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DORE'S    NIAGARA. 


NOTES 


ON 


NIAGARA 


EDITED  BY 


R.    LESPINASSE. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  PROMINENT  ARTISTS. 


SECOND  EDITION'. 


CHICAGO: 

R.    Lespinasse,    Publisher. 

i  884. 


COPYRIGHT. 

R,    LESPINflSSE 
iaaa, 


JAMESON   A:   MORSE,  Composition. 
ROBERT   GRAINGER,  FfelsWork. 


BLOMGREN    BROS,  &  CO.,  Electrotitping. 

DONOHUE    &    HENNEBERRY,  Binding. 


MAP  OF   THE  VICINITY  OF   NIAGARA   FALLS. 


«!■*" 


/ 


Stack 
Annex 

5 

52.| 


PREFylCJE. 


r~fyEL YING-  upon  mere  -words  to  make  the  people 
familiar  with  ci  znost  szvperb  creation  of  Nature,  and 
describe  impressions  of  the  grandeur  arid  sublimity  of 
the   Falls    of   Niagara,   would  prove   a   futile   attempt. 

The  artist's  peixcil  alone  can  convey  a  faint  idea 
of  the.  more  salient  features  of  Niagara ,  and  nxust  of 
necessity  supplement  the  most  gorgeozzs  and  brilliant 
description.  Even  at  its  best  it  proves  inadequate  to 
eA'press  that  in  which  lies  its  deepest  charm — everlast- 
ing motion  and  perpetual  change,  conjoined  with  an 
all-pervading  sense  of  unity. 

.Eyes,  mind  and  heart  go  in  unison;  writing  is  use- 
less, art  is  jjowerless,  to  depict  the  weird  majesty  of 
the  scene. 

We  have  endeavored  to  ma~Pce  the  worl-c  beautiful 
and  attractive,  gathering  in  o?ie  volume  the  best  words 
of  eloquent  pens  and  lui ppiest  conceptions  of  thorough 
cwtists. 

Sow  well  we  have  succeeded  in  attaining  our  aim 
remains  for  the  reader  to  determine. 


A  *  *n\**<r**~ 


PUBLISHER'S   NDTE, 


REFERENCE,  in  the  course  of  this  volume,  to  numerous  prominent  authors, 
has  contributed  largely  to  the  spicy  variations  and   interesting  features  of 
our  text.      As  a  matter  of  justice,  as  well   as    courtesy,  the   publishers  of 
these  various  works  deserve  special  mention  at  our  hands. 

The  fac-simile  of  engravings  inserted  in  our  pages,  illustrate,  mostly,  familiar 
points  and  landmarks  of  earlier  days,  now  obliterated. 

Excerpts  are  from  the  following  works: 

GEORGE  HOUGHTON— Niagara  and  Other  Poems. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Publishers,  Boston,  Mass. 

LADY  DUFFUS  HARDY -Through  Cities  and  Prairie  Lands. 

Belford,  Clarke  &  Co.,  Publishers.  Chicago,  111.,  1882. 

CHARLES  DICKENS— American  Notes. 

N.  P.  WILLIS— American  Scenery. 

Geo.  Virtue,  Publisher,  London,  1839. 

GEORGE  W.  HOLLEY— The  Falls  of  Niagara. 

A.  C.  Armstrong  &  Son.,  Publishers,  New  York,  1883. 

H.  T.  ALLEN — Illustrated  Guide  to  Niagara. 

H.  T.  Allen,  Publisher,  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  1881. 

JACQUES  OFFENBACH— Offenbach  in  America. 

G.  W.  Carleton  &  Co.,  Publishers,  New  York,  1877 

MRS.  SIGOURNEY— Scenes  in  my  Native  Land. 

C.  H.  A.  BULKLEY— Niagara— A  Poem. 

Leavitt,  Trow  &  Co.,  Publishers,  New  York,  1848. 

J.  B.  HARRISON— Letters  on  the  Condition  of  Niagara  Falls. 

Franklin  Falls,  N.  H.,  1882. 

JOHN  M.  DUNCAN— Travels  through  part  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

University  Press,  Glasgow,  1818. 

CAPT.  BASIL  HALL— Travels  in  North  America. 

Robert  Cadell,  Publisher,  Edinburgh,  1828. 

JAMES  STUART— Three  Years  in  North  America. 

London  Edition,  1S31. 

CHAS.  AUGUSTUS  MURRAY— Travels  in  North  America. 

Harper  &  Bros.,  Publishers,  New  York,  1839. 

.1.  S.  BUCKINGHAM — America — Historical,  Statistic  and  Descriptive. 

Harper  &  Bros..  Publishers,  New  York,  1841. 

CHARLES  LYELL— Travels  in  North  America. 

Wiley  &  Putnam,  Publishers,  New  York,  1845. 

COL.  P.  DONAN — Pamphlet  "ii  Mackinac  Island. 

Chicago,  111.,  1883. 


CONTENTS 


Preface,  ..... 

Publisher's  Note, 

List  of  Illustrations, 

Philosophical  Kf.flections  —  Col.  P.   Dorian, 

Bird's  Eye  View  of  Niagara  Falls, 

Early  Glimpses,  .... 

La  Salle's  Explorations, 

Hennepin's  Account,  ... 

Baron  La  Hontaine, 

Figures  by  Charlevoix, 

Eighteenth  Century  Notes  —  Peter  Kalm, 

L'Abbe  Picquet, 
Weld's  Visit, 

Indian  Legends,  .... 

Red  Jacket,  ..... 

Below  the  Great  Fall — John  M.  Duncan, 

Creation's  Pride  —  Wilhelm  Meister, 

The  Old  Ferry  Landing  —  American  Side, 

American  Rapids  —  N.  P.  Willis, 

Niagara  —  Translated  by  Win.  Cullen  Bryant, 

Album  Sketch — Col.  Porter, 

Behind  the  Sheet  of  Water  —  Cbas.  A.  Murray, 

Captain  Hall's  Narrative  —  On  Goat  Island, 

Neighborhood  Scenery, 


Impressions — James  Stuart, 
The  Horse-Shoe  Fall  —  N. 
A  Thrilling  Escape  —  Wm, 
Table  Rock,     - 
The  Hermit  of  the  Falls - 


First  Goat  Island  Bridge, 
Crossing  to  Canada, 

P.  Willis, 
Hosea  Ballou, 


Mrs.  Sigourney, 


The  Rambler  —  Chas.   Jos.   Latrobe, 

A  Syncope  of  the  Waters  —  Geo.  W.  Holley, 

The  Niagara  River, 

Dicken's  Notes,  .... 


7 
8 
13 
10 
17 
19 
20 
21 
25 
25 
27 
28 
28 
30 
32 
31 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
42 
43 
44 
44 
46 
47 
48 
50 
52 
55 
60 
66 
68 
72 


CDNTE  NTS, —  Continued. 


91 
94 


PAGE. 

Burning  of  the  Caroline  —  H.  T.  Allen,       -------  75 

How  to  See  the  Cataract — J.  B.  Harrison,       -------  78 

Existing  Conditions,      ------  78 

Four  Separate  "Waterfalls,                            ...            -  78 

Framework  of  Foliage,               -  80 

Why  Some  Persons  are  Disappointed,       -             -             -             -  81 

Misused  Opportunities,               -----  82 

Prospect  Park,         -             -             -             -             -             -             -  84 

Goat  Island,                  ------  85 

The  Rapids,             -------  86 

A  Last  Look — J.   S.  Buckingham,                  -------  88 

The  Rapids  and  Gorge  —  George  Houghton,        ------- 

The  Maid  of  the  Mist  —  Geo.  W.  Holley,  _...-- 

The  Cataract,        --------- 

The  New  Suspension  Bridge,               --------  96 

From  City  to  Cataract  —  Lady  Duffus  Hardy,                  -             -             -             -             -             -  99 

Niagara  Falls  from  Canada  —  General  View,              ....--  100 

Table  Rock, 100 

The  Rapids,                 ....--  101 

Clark  Hill  Islands,                         102 

The  Burning  Spring,               -  102 

Above  the  Falls,                ------  104 

Lundy's  Lane,             ------  106 

Whirlpool  Rapids,                         106 

The  Whirlpool,            -  106 

The  Roar  of  the  Falls,                 ---------  107 

Depths  of  Niagara's  Canyon  — W.   H.   Ballon,             ------  108 

In  Winter,              -              -                            --------  110 

Ice  Mound,              ---------  112 

A  Bolk   Swim,         -              -                            --------  113 

Captain  Webb  in  the  Rapids,                -             -             -             -             -             -  114 

Theories  as  to  Manner  of  Death,                -             -             -             -             -             -  115 

International  Park  Project,                ...                           ....  118 

A  Plea  for  Preservation  —  J.   B.  Harrison,               -             -             -  119 

Across  Niagara  River,              -             -             -             -             -             -             -             -             -  I22 

Progress  of  the  Work,       -------  124 

Offenbach  on  Niagara,              ......-.-  128 

Speculations  of  the  Scientists  : 

Retrocession  of  the  Falls — Sir  Charles  Lyell,                ....             -  129 

Reduced  Height,           -----  130 

Recent  Proofs  of  Erosion,               ....  130 

Remnants  of  an  old  River  Bed,            -             -             -  131 

The  Devil's  Hole,                -----  133 

Recession,          ------  133 

Future  Retrocession,             ....             -  134 

Origin  of  the  Falls,      -            -            -            -            -  135 

Lapse  of  Time,       ------  136 

Past  and  Future  — Prof.  Tyndall,        -             -             -             -             -             -             -  140 

Effects  of  the  Sand  Blast,      ------  140 

Erosive  Power  of  Rivers,               -             -             -             -             -  HI 

Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Cataract,             -             -            •             -  142 

In  the  Past,          .---.--  142 

10 


CDHTENTS,-  CDNTINUEE 


Past  and  Future — Erosive  Power  of  the  Horse- Shoe  Pall, 
The  Future, 
Gratuitous  Assertions  —  J.  M.  Duncan, 
Niagara  Falls,  Ontario,  - 

Village  of  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y., 

The  Hackruan, 
Eetrospect  —  L.  Deville,  ..... 

Brief  Guide  to  Niagara  Falls  and  Vicinity, 
Agreements,  ....... 


PAGE. 

131 
141 
146 
150 
151 
152 
151 
155 
160 


*Cw£ZJ&^ 


11 


K 


'A. 


i''''..>V'tA-.l^-i'S.'!gH"^J,-.'''1'S"V  "■* 


MM£m£mMf 


- ^^r:^--^— :  -;  —  --■■  -  - 


LIST    DP    ILLUSTRATIONS 


SUBJECT. 

Niagara,  -  -  - 

Map  of  the  Vicinity  of  Niagara  Falls, 

A  Sweet  Singer,  - 

Blooming  Cactuses,  -  - 

A  Tony  Tourist, 

Bird's  Eye  View  from  Upper  Bapids  to  the  Whirlpool, 

Indian  Head 

Stone  Towers  of  Fort  Frontenae  in  1676,    - 

La  Salle's  Fort  and  Palisades,  1678,       -  - 

Hennepin's  View  (Fac-simile),  - 

General  View  in  1796   (Fac-simile),        - 

Flying  Ducks, 

Distant  View  in  1884, 

From  Far  Scattered  Camps,  ... 

The  Indian's  Sacrifice  to  Niagara's  God's, 

The  House  of  Bed  Jacket, 

Portrait  of  Bed  Jacket   (Fac-simile) 

Horse- Shoe  Falls  from  below, 

Creation's  Pride    (Pen  Text), 

The  Old  Ferry  Landing    (Fac-simile), 

"  Thy  Forest  Pines  are  Fittest  Coronal," 

Portrait  of  Win.  Cullen  Bryant, 

The  Chief,  the  Soldier  of  the  Sword,  the  Soldier-  of  the  Cross, 

Under  Table  Bock  in  1835   (Fac-simile),      - 

Viewing  the  Falls, 

On  Goat  Island, 

View  from  Prospect  Point, 

Brock's  Monument  and  Obelisk, 

13 


GUSTAVE  DoRE, 


Fkank  B.  Green, 
F.  C.  Bromley, 
F.  E.  Green, 
Chas.  Graham, 
F.  C.  Bromley, 
Father  Hennepin, 
J.  AVeld, 
F.  C.  Bromley, 
Chas.  Volkmar, 
F.  E.  Lumis. 
Chas.  Volkmar, 
C.  Graham, 
Weir, 

F.  C.  Bromley, 
F.  C.  Bromley. 
W.  H.  Bartlett, 
Frank  B.  Green, 
Frank  1!.  (ir.EEN, 
Chas.Volkmak, 
\V.  II.  Bartlett, 
F.  B.  Green, 
Alfred  Trumble, 
A.  Mies, 
F.  C.  Bromley, 


PAGE. 

Frontispiece 
5 
6 

12 
16 
17 
19 
20 
20 
23 
26 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
35 
36 
37 
39 
39 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 


LIST    DF  ILLUSTRATIDNS.-CDNTINUEn, 


SUBJECT. 

Prospect  Point  in  1835  (Fac-simile), 

Terrapin  Tower,  Bridge  and  Falls  in  1837  (Fac-simile),      - 

Lewiston  from  the  Mountain,      .... 

The  Fall  of  Table  Book,         ..... 

Terrapin  Rocks,  . 

They  Bore  the  Weary  Dead  back  to  his  Desolate  Cottage, 

Sister  Islands  and  Horse- Shoe  Falls,     - 

Flower  Yase  and  Initial,        ..... 

Steps  to  Rapids  on  Outer  Sister  Island, 

Wild  Blossoms,  ---.._ 

The  Spring  on  Goat  Island,         .... 

American  Falls  from  the  River,         .... 

General  View  of  Falls  in  1833, 

Old  Wind  Mill  at  Fort  Erie,  .... 

The  Outlet  of  Niagara  River  (Fac-simile), 

Niagara  River  from  Original  Maps, 

Cynthia  Island,  -  . 

Rock  of  Ages  and  Cave  of  the  Winds, 

Farewell,  .... 

The  Leaping  Rock,  ---._. 

Shadow  of  the  Rock  and  Inclined  Railway, 

Fort  Niagara  in  1814, 

American  Rapids  from  Bath  Island, 

Canadian  Rapids  above  the  Falls, 

The  Whirlpool  and  Manitou  Rock  (Fac-simile), 

Tempest,        ..... 

The  Maid  of  the  Misf  Going  Through  the  Whirlpool  Rapids, 

American  Fall  and  Initial,  .... 

The  Central  Fall,  ..... 

The  New  Suspension  Bridge,  .... 

The  Spirit  of  the  Falls,  . 

On  Lake  Ontario,  .... 

General  View  of  Falls  from  Canada, 
Falls  View  Station,  . 

Profile  of  American  Fall,  - 

Along  the  Burning  Spring  Drive, 

A  Glimpse  of  American  Fall,       -  -  .  . 

Fir.-i  Bridge  across  American  Rapids  to  Goat  Island, 

To  Lundy's  Lane,  -  -  -  .  . 

American  Falls  from  Goat  Island,     -  -  .  . 

Ice  Forms,  - 

Bi  hind  the  Horse-Si Falls, 

Captain  Webb  in  the  Rapids, 
Matthew  Webb— Portrait,  - 


ARTIST. 

W.  H.  Babtlett, 
W.  H.  Babtlett, 
F.  C.  Bbomlet, 
F.  C.  Bromley, 


A.  Mies, 
F.  C.  Bromley, 
Chas.  Yolkmar, 
Al.  Trtjmble, 


Chas.  Volkmar, 

Babtlett, 

Tom  Cole, 

Drake, 

W.  H.  Bartlett, 


Chas.  Volkmar, 
Chas.  Volkmab, 


F.  C  Bbomlet, 
F.  C.  Bbomley, 
H.  W.  Tboy, 
Chas.  Volkmab, 
F.  C.  Bbomley, 
Babtlett, 


E.  Bbown, 

F.  R.  Gbeen, 


F.  R.  Green, 
F.  C.  Bbomley, 


F.  C.  Bbomley, 

F.  C.  Bromley, 
Aldine, 
McLean, 

G.  Oakley, 


F.  C.  Bbomley, 
C.  Mat/band, 

F.  C.  Bbomley, 
E.  Brown, 


PAGE. 

47 
4!) 
50 
53 
54 
57 
58 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
67 
68 
69 
70 
71 
73 
74 
76 
77 
79 
83 
S7 
90 
91 
93 
94 
95 
97 
98 
99 
101 
102 
1112 
103 
104 
105 
106 
109 
110 

111 

114 
115 


LIST    DF  ILLUSTRATiCNS. -CONTINUED, 


SUBJECT. 

Pilgrimage  under  the  Falls,         -  -  - 

Below  the  Whirlpool,  - 

New  Cantilever  Bridge,  -  -  - 

The  Bridge  at  Various  Stages, 

An  Old  Settler,     ----- 

Section  at  Niagara  Falls,        -  -  -  - 

Section  of  the  Strata  from  Lake  Ontario  to  Lake  Erie, 

Bird's-Eye  View  of  the  Country  around  Niagara  Falls, 

The  Devil's  Hole,  - 

The  Cataract  by  Electric  Light, 

Horse-Shoe  Falls  from  Ferry  Road, 

Leaves  from  a  Sketch  Book,  - 

Transfer,  Sir !        - 

Rural  Scene  from  the  Heights, 

Hotel  Kaltenbach,  ....  - 

A  Guide,         ------ 

Biddle  Stairs,        ------ 

Spiral  Staircase,  -..-..- 

Suspension  Bridge,  - 

Moss  Island  Bridge,  - 

American  Rapids,  - 

Initial  Letters  from  Drawings  of  Bromley, 


Chas.  Lyell, 

Hall's  Report, 

J.  Fleming, 

A.  Mies, 

Alfred  Trumblb, 

(.'has.  Volkmar, 

F.  R.  Green, 

Redfield, 

Brown, 

Curtis, 


F.  C  Bromley, 

I'.   ('    Bromley, 


F.  C  Bromley, 
Baetlett, 
Green,  Volkmar,  and  others. 


PAGE. 

117 

mi 

121 
125 
127 
131 

ru 

137 
131) 
145 

148 
149 
150 
151 
151 
152 
153 
153 
153 

l.-,:; 

153 


15 


PHILOSOPHICAL   FJEFIiEGTIONS. 


CDL.    P.    DDNflN, 


MONG  all  the  lands  and  nationalities  of  earth,  America 

stands,   in    many  respects,   peerless,   unrivaled  and  unri- 

valable.       It    is    the    broadest    land    ever   given    to    any 

people,  the  grandest  and  most  beautiful,  the  most  varied  in  its 

attractions    and  its  products,   and  the   most    unlimited   in   its 

capabilities  and  its  future. 

The  more  one  rambles  over  this  magnificent  continent, 
our  own  half  world,  and  the  more  he  sees  of  its  never-ending, 
ever-changing  glories,    sublimities  and  beauties,   the   greater 
must  be  his  contempt  for  the  average  American  tourist,  who 
turns   his   back   on    scenes   as    transcendently   grand,    varied 
and   enchanting-  as  ever  the  sun,  in  all  its  wide  celestial 
rounds,  looked  down  upon;  and  rushes  off  to  Europe,  to 
loaf  around  fashionable   hotels,  wine-shops  and  haber- 
dashers' stores,  and  then  come  back  and  prate,  in  mock-turtle 
French,  of  "la  belle   Paree,"  queenly  "Madreed,"  the   Lake  of 
Como,  Mont  Blanc,  Rome,  Venice,  Vesuvius  and  the  Alps,  and 
a  hundred  other  places.      If  he  chances  to  meet  an  intelligent 
European  in  his  travels,  the  first  question  asked  him  exposes 
his  folly,  for  it  is  a  question  about  some  one  of  the  innumerable, 
sublime  and  wondrous  objects  in  his  own  country  that  he  has 
never  deemed  worth  a  visit.      In  view  of  the  hegira  that,  each 
spring  and  summer,  jams   every  out-bound   steamer,   there   is 
urgent   need   of   a   constitutional   amendment   prohibiting   any 
untutored   American  from  going  abroad  until  he  has  seen  his 
own  supremely  lovely  land. 

It  was  Byron,  who,  when  an  American  was  introduced  to 
him,  began  eagerly  to  question  him  about  Niagara  Falls,  and  on  being  told  that  he 
had  never  seen  them,  turned  on  his  heel  with  an  oath  of  unutterable  disgust  at  the 
idea  of  a  man  coming  from  America  to  Europe  without  having  seen  that  wonder  of 
the  world  in  his  own  country. 

Nature  never  constructed  a  bigger  combined  idiot  and  cheap  humbug  than  the 
American  who  goes  into  bogus  raptures  over  the  lakes  and  crags  of  Switzerland  or 
Italy,  while  he  has  never  seen  or  cared  to  see  Niagara. 


16 


or 


UPPER  RAPIB 
T0  THE 


CYNTHIA    IS      !>.!p«^»ii. 


BURNING  §PR/I1G. 


THREE         ^fi/. 

Sisters       V? 


WHIRLPOOL;   H   LDNGis5  li*t  ^ 


„EW  fW* 


^H 


,f<    */Urs* 


•N1 


^Fr)C  •  fall  ■  of-  Wafers!  •  rapid  •  as  ■  the  ■  "gtjt  ' 

Whc  ■  flasl-)ir)g  ■  rrjass  •  foarrjs  •  shading  ■  irje  '  akyss  : 
The  •  rjell  •  of-  Waters!  ■  Wrjcre  •  trjey  ■  tjoWl  •  ar)d  ■  hiss, 
MqA  ■  boil  ■  ir|  •  endless  ■  torture:  •  Wr)ile  ■  l\)C  ■  sWcat 
Of-  lrjeir  ■  great- agony,  ■  Wrung  •  out  •  Jrorr)  ■  trjis, 
^pl)eir>  •  J^rjlcgelrjon,    curls  ■  round  ■  irje  ■  rocl^s  •  of  •  jet 
^Phat  •  gird  ■  fr]e  •  gulf    around,  ■  in  •  pitiless  ■  horror  ■  set, 
,71nd  •  rnourjts  ■  >0  •  spray    lr)<=  ■  sfyas,  ■  and  ■  iTjcncc  •  again 
l^clurns  •  in  •  an  •  unceasing  ■  snoWcr. 


BYROM,    IV    CHILSE    HAHOLD. 


18 


EJII^IiV   GLlIMPSES, 


'HE  name  NIAGARA  is  of  Indian  origin,  and 
undoubtedly  a  tribal  name.  According  to  Indian 
authorities  its  orthography  and  pronunciation 
were  originally  Ony-a-kar-ra,  changed  gradu- 
ally to  Ni-ah-gar-rah.  Its  signification  is  gen- 
erally given  as  "Thunder  of  Waters." 

The  work  of  discovery  and  exploration  of 
the  whole  interior  of  the  American  continent  is 
due  to  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  of  the  French 
adventurers,  soldiers  and  missionaries,  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  Before  the  Spaniards  had  pen- 
etrated southward,  about  1539,  the  French,  under 
Jacques  Cartier,  had  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
as  far  as  Quebec,  in   1534. 

The  report  of  the  discoveries  made  by 
Cartier's  first  expedition  were  so  favorable  that, 
under  orders  of  King  Francis  I,  he  sailed  the 
following  year  with  a  small  flotilla,  to  continue 
investigations  of  the  wedged-shaped  river,  ninety 
miles  wide  at  its  mouth.  For  many  years  oper- 
ations did  not  extend  beyond  the  site  of  Quebec,  and 
information  as  to  the  source  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
was  gathered  from  Indians,  who  told  the  navigator 
of  a  great  lake  into  which  also  emptied  a  river  from  the 
south,  and  that  upon  that  river  and  beyond  the  lake  he 
would  find  an  immense  cataract  and  portage. 
Samuel  de  Champlain,  sent  from  France  in  1603  for  the 
express  purpose  of  utilizing  the  discoveries  made  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
does  not  appear  to  have  pushed  his  explorations  on  Lake  Ontario  in 
the  direction  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  and  leaves  only  an  indication  of  the  cataract 
on  a  map,   published  about   161 3. 

Creuxio,  the  author  of  a  History  of  Canada,  published  in  1660,  also  marks 
it  down  upon  his   map,  but  makes  no   mention  whatever  in   the  history  itself. 

Other  early  accounts  in  which  the  cataract  is  incidentally  mentioned  are  in 
existence,  but  its  first  description  by  an  eye-witness  did  not  occur  until  the  time 
of  La  Salle's  expedition  to  the   Upper  Lakes. 

19 


. 


Iifl  SpiiIiE'S    EXPLORATIONS. 


3'  OBERT  CAVALIER  DE  LA  SALLE,  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant  of 
p4jgl_  Rouen,  France,  an  ambitious,  bold,  resolute  young  man,  came  to  Canada 
(®^J^p  in  the  spring  of  1666,  and  stood  conspicuous  among  the  most  adventurous 
explorers  at  that  time.  He  had  a  firm  belief  that  the  Mississippi  river 
emptied  southward  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  not  into  the  Pacific 
ocean,  as  stated  by  other  discoverers,  and  it  became  the  settled  purpose  of  his  life 
to  be  the  instrument  by  which  the  immense  territory  tributary  to  its  waters  would 
be  thrown  into  the  lap  of  France,  and  extensive  commercial   relations  established. 


After  a  visit 
to  King  Louis 


as»2  order  of  the 
Knighthood, 
La  Salle  on 
his  return 
rebuilt  the 
f  o  r  t ,  which 
he  named 
Fro  n  ten  ac, 
with   massive 


XIV.,  who 
granted  him 
a  seigniory  of 
land  in  Can- 
ada around 
Ft.  Catarau- 
qui,   and    the 

towers  of  stone,  then  took  steps  to  place  another  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara 
river,  having  obtained  reluctant  permission  from  the   Senecas  to  erect  it,  and  also 
to  build  a  vessel  above  the  falls  of  Niagara.      This  vessel,  named  the  Griffin,    .   ' 
launched  on   the  7th  of  August,  1679,  was  the  first  to  navigate  the  lakes.  .^ 

Father  Louis   Hennepin,  a  Roman   Catholic  Mission-    f^M^  -•:r"-'<-    ', 

ary,  accompanied   La  Salle  in   his  explorations.      In  a*     f^^^%l^|§'-;« 
work  he  published  in    1697  we  find  the  first  descrip 
tion   of  the  wonderful  cataract  which   he   had  visited  _->  ^v'Vf^J 
in    December,    1678.      His  work   is  entitled,  "A   New      #  r  M 

'  ...  ;■ 

Discovery  of  a  Vast  Country  in   America,  extending      >;Af 
above  four  thousand  miles,  between  New  France  and 
New  Mexico,  with  a  description  of  the   Great  Lakes, 
Cataracts,  Rivers,  Plants  and  Animals;  also  the  Man- 
ners, Customs  and   LanQ-uacres  of  the  several   Native 
Indians,  and  the  Advantages  of  Commerce  with  these 
different  Nations,  etc."      It  contains  mail)'  won 
derful  recitals,  bearing  a  strong  impress 
of  Indian  folk-lore  and  traditions,  5 


MM 


coupled  with   a  tendency 
to  the  marvellous. 


-  wsmm 


HENNEPIN'S    HGCOUNT. 


,ETWIXT  the  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  there  is  a  vast 
and  prodigious  cadence  of  water,  which  falls  down 
after  a  surprising  and  astounding  manner;  insomuch 
that  the  universe  does  not  afford  its  parallel.  Tis  true, 
Italy  and  Suedland  boast  of  some  such  things,  but  we 
may  well  say  that  they  are  but  sorry  patterns  when 
compared  to  this  of  which  we  now  speak.  At  the  foot 
of  this  horrible  precipice  we  meet  with  the  river 
Niagara,  which  is  not  above  a  quarter  of  a  league 
broad,  but  is  wonderfully  deep  in  some  places.  It  is 
so  rapid  above  this  descent  that  it  violently  hurries 
down  the  wild  beasts  while  endeavoring  to  pass  it  to 
feed  on  the  other  side,  they  not  being  able  to  with- 
stand the  force  of  its  current,  which  inevitably  casts  them 
headlong,   above  six  hundred  feet  high. 

This  wonderful  downfall  is  compounded  of  two  great 
cross  streams  of  water  and  two  falls,  with  an  isle  sloping 
alone  the  middle  of  it.  The  waters  which  fall  from  this 
horrible  precipice  do  foam  and  boil  after  the  most  hideous 
manner  imaginable,  making  an  outrageous  noise,  more  terrible 
than  that  of  thunder ;  for  when  the  wind  blows  out  of  the 
south,  their  dismal  roaring  may  be  heard  more  than  fifteen 
leagues  off. 

The  river  Niagara,  having  thrown  itself  down  this  incred- 
ible precipice,  continues  its  impetuous  course  for  two  leagues 
together,  to  the  Great  Rock,  with  an  inexpressible  rapidity;  but  having  passed 
that,  its  impetuosity  relents,  gliding  along  more  gently  for  two  other  leagues,  till 
it  arrives  at  the   Lake    Ontario  or  Frontenac. 

Any  barque  or  greater  vessel  may  pass  from  the  fort  to  the  top  of  the  huge 
rock  mentioned.  This  rock  lies  to  the  westward  anil  is  cut  oft  from  the  land  by 
the  river  Niagara,  about  two  leagues  further  down  than  the  Great  Fall,  for  which 
two  leagues  the  people  are  obliged  to  transport  their  goods  over  land;  but  the 
way  is  very  good,  and  the  trees  are  but  few,  chiefly  firs  and  oaks. 


From  the  Great  Fall  unto  this  rock,  which  is  to  the  west  of  the  river,  the  two 
brinks  of  it  are  so  prodigious  high  that  it  would  make  one  tremble  to  look  steadily 
upon  the  water,  rolling  along  with  a  rapidity  not  to  be  imagined. 

I  could  not  conceive  how  it  came  to  pass  that  four  great  lakes,  the  least  of 
which  is  four  hundred  leagues  in  compass,  should  empty  themselves  into  one 
another,  and  then  all  centre  and  discharge  themselves  at  this  Great  Fall,  and  yet 
not  drown  a  good  part  of  America  What  is  yet  more  surprising,  the  ground,  from 
the  mouth  of  Lake  Erie  down  to  the  Great  Fall,  appears  almost  level  and  flat.  It 
is  scarce  discernible  that  there  is  the  least  rise  or  fall  for  six  leagues  together. 
The  more  than  ordinary  swiftness  of  the  stream  is  the  only  thing  which  makes  it 
to  be  observed.  And  that  which  makes  it  yet  the  stranger  is  that  for  two  leagues 
together  below  the  Fall,  towards  Lake  Ontario  or  Frontenac,  the  lands  are  as 
level  as  they  are  above  it,   or  towards  Lake  Erie. 

Our  surprise  was  still  greater  when  we  observed  that  there  was  no  mountain 
within  two  good  leagues  of  this  cascade;  and  yet  the  vast  quantity  of  water  which  is 
discharged  by  these  four  fresh  seas,  stops  or  centres  here,  and  so  falls  above  six 
hundred  feet  deep  down  into  a  gulf  which  one  cannot  look  upon  without  horror. 
Two  other  great  outlets  or  falls  of  water  which  are  on  the  two  sides  of  a  small 
sloping  island,  which  is  in  the  midst,  fall  gently  and  without  noise,  and  so  glide 
away  quietly  enough;  but  when  this  prodigious  quantity  of  water,  of  which  I  speak, 
comes  to  the  fall,  there  is  a  din  and  noise,  more  deafening  than  the  loudest  thunder. 

The  rebounding  of  these  waters  is  so  great  that  a  sort  of  cloud  arises  from  the 
foam  of  it  which  is  seen  hanging  over  this  abyss,  even  at  noon-day,  when  the  sun 
is  at  its  height.  In  the  midst  of  summer,  when  the  weather  is  hottest,  they  rise 
above  the  tallest  firs,  and  other  great  trees  which  grow  on  the  sloping  island  which 
makes  the  two  falls  of  water  that   I   spoke  of. 

I  wished  an  hundred  times  that  somebody  had  been  with  us  who  could  have 
described  the  wonders  of  this  prodigious  Fall,  so  as  to  give  the  reader  a  just  and 
natural  idea  of  it,  such  as  might  satisfy  him,  and  cause  in  him  an  admiration  of  this 
prodigy  of  nature  as  great  as  it  deserves.  In  the  meantime  accept  the  following 
draft,  such  as  it  is,  in  which,  however,  I  have  endeavored  to  give  the  curious  reader 
as  just  an  image  of  it  as   I   can. 

After  the  river  has  run  violently  for  six  leagues,  it  meets  with  a  small  sloping 
island,  about  half  a  quarter  of  a  league  long,  and  near  three  hundred  feet  broad, 
as  well  as  one  can  guess  by  the  eye;  for  it  is  impossible  to  come  at  it  in  a  canoe 
of  bark,  the  water  runs  with  that  force.  The  isle  is  full  of  cedar  and  fir,  but  the 
land  of  it  lies  no  higher  than  that  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  It  seems  to  be  all 
level,  even  as  far  as  the  two  great  cascades  that  make  the  main  Fall. 

The  two  sides  of  the  channels,  which  are  made  by  the  isle,  and  run  on  both 
sides  of  it,  overflow  almost  the  very  surface  of  the  earth  of  the  said  isle,  as  well 

22 


as  the  land  that  lies  on  the  banks  of  the  river  to  the  cast  and  west,  as  it  runs  south 
and  north.  But  we  must  observe,  that  at  the  end  of  the  isle,  on  the  side  of  the 
two  Great  Falls,  there  is  a  sloping  rock  which  reaches  as  far  as  the  great  gulf 
into  which  the  said  water  falls,  and  yet  the  rock  is  not  at  all  wetted  by  the  two 
cascades,  which  fall  on  both  sides,  because  the  two  torrents  which  are  made 
by  the  isle  throw  themselves  with  a  prodigious  force,  one  towards  the  east  and 
the  other  towards  the  west,  from  off  the  end  of  the  isle  where  the  Great  Fall 
of  all   is. 


FAC-SIMILE   OF    A    VIEW    OF   NIAGARA    FALLS,  BY    FATHER    LOUIS    HENNEPIN. 


FROM    THC    ORIGINAL    I 


EsmoM    ie»i. 


After  these  two  torrents  have  thus  run  by  the  two  sides  of  the  isle,  they  cast 
their  waters  all  of  a  sudden  down  into  the  gulf  by  two  great  falls;  which  waters 
are  pushed  so  violently  on  by  their  own  weight,  and  so  sustained  by  the  swiftness 
of  the  motion  that  they  do  not  wet  the  rock  in  the  least.  And  here  it  is  that  they 
tumble  down   into  an  abyss  six  hundred  feet  in  depth. 

The  waters  that  flow  on  the  side  of  the  east  do  not  throw  themselves  with  that 
violence  as  those  that  fall  on  the  west;  the  reason  is,  because  the  rock  at  the  end 
of  the  island   rises  something  more  on  this  side  than  it  does  on  the  west;  and  so 


the  waters,  being  supported  by  it  somewhat  longer  than  they  are  on  the  other  side, 
are  carried  the  smoother  off ;  but  on  the  west,  the  rock  sloping  more,  the  waters, 
for  want  of  support,  become  sooner  broken,  and  fall  with  greater  precipitation. 
Another  reason  is,  the  lands  that  lie  on  the  west  are  lower  than  those  that  lie  on 
the  east.  We  also  observed  that  the  waters  of  the  fall  that  is  to  the  west  made  a 
sort  of  square  figure  as  they  fell,  which  made  a  third  cascade,  less  than  the  other 
two,  which  fell  betwixt  the  south  and  north. 

And  because  there  is  a  rising'  ground  which  lies  before  these  two  cascades  to 
the  north,  the  gulf  is  much  larger  there  than  to  the  east.  Moreover,  we  must 
observe  that  from  the  rising  ground  which  lies  over  against  the  last  two  falls,  which 
are  on  the  west  of  the  main  fall,  one  may  go  down  as  far  as  the  bottom  of  this 
terrible  gulf.  The  author  of  this  discovery  was  down  there,  the  more  narrowly  to 
observe  the  fall  of  these  prodigious  cascades.  From  thence  we  could  discover  a 
spot  of  ground  which  lay  under  the  fall  of  water  which  is  to  the  east,  big  enough 
for  four  coaches  to  drive  abreast  without  being  wet;  but  because  the  ground  which 
is  to  the  east  of  the  sloping  rock,  where  the  first  fall  empties  itself  into  the  gulf,  is 
very  steep  and  perpendicular,  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  get  down  on  that  side, 
into  the  place  where  the  four  coaches  may  go  abreast,  or  to  make  his  way  through 
such  a  quantity  of  water  as  falls  towards  the  gulf  ;  so  that  it  is  very  probable  that 
to  this  dry  place  it  is  that  the  rattlesnakes  retire,  by  certain  passages  which  they 
find  under  ground. 

From  the  end  of  this  island  it  is  that  these  two  great  falls  of  water,  as  also  the 
third  but  now  mentioned,  throw  themselves,  after  a  most  surprising  manner,  down 
into  a  dreadful  gulf,  six  hundred  feet  and  more  in  depth.  I  have  already  said  that 
the  waters  which  discharge  themselves  at  the  cascade  to  the  east,  fall  with  lesser 
force  ;  whereas  those  at  the  west  tumble  all  at  once,  making  two  cascades,  one 
moderate,  the  other  very  violent  and  strong,  which  at  last  make  a  kind  of  crochet 
or  square  figure,  falling  from  south  to  north  and  west  to  east.  After  this  they 
rejoin  the  waters  of  the  other  cascade  that  falls  to  the  east,  and  so  tumble  down 
altogether,  though  unequally,  into  the  gulf,  with  all  the  violence  that  can  be 
imagined  from  a  fall  of  six  hundred  feet,  which  makes  the  most  frightful  cascade  in 
the  world. 

I  have  often  heard  talk  of  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile,  which  make  the  people 
deaf  that  live  near  them.  I  know  not  if  the  Iroquois,  who  formerly  inhabited 
near  this  fall,  and  lived  upon  wild  beasts  which  from  time  to  time  are  borne  down 
by  the  violence  of  its  torrent,  withdrew  themselves  from  its  neighborhood  lest  they 
should  likewise  become  deaf,  or  out  of  the  continual  fear  they  were  in  of  rattle- 
snakes, which  are  very  common  in  this  place  during  the  great  heats,  and  lodge 
in  the  holes  of  the  rocks  as  far  as  the  mountains,  which  lie  two  leagues 
lower." 

24 


BfH^OI)    lifL    HOrjTflll^E. 


ITHIN  a  few  years  after  that  of  Father  Hennepin  comes  the 

report  of  Baron   La  Hontaine,  whose  impressions  Ave  find 

:corded  in  a  volume  of  "New  Voyages  to  North  America." 

ublished  in  London   during-  the  year   1703,  and   originally 

written  in  the  French  lan^ua^e. 

o         o 

His  visit  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
[687.  On  account  of  the  bitter  and  relentless  enmity 
of  the  Iroquois  against  the  French  he  was  kept  in  con- 

'  '^J8m.  -*""  "^rpm^j--  --^TJli.     "I,ml  ''''"'  "'   ''  ~-111'1'1'11  attack.      His  stay  was  brief  and 

in   many  cases  his  examinations  only  superficial.       Of 
the  cataract,  he  says : 

"  As  for  the  waterfall  of  Niagara,  'tis  seven  or  eight 
hundred  feet  high  and  half  a  league  broad.  Towards 
the  middle  of  it  we  descry  an  island,  leaning  towards  the 
precipice  as  if  it  were  ready  to  fall.  All  the  beasts  that  do 
attempt  to  cross  the  waters  within  half  a  quarter  of  a  league  above 
this  unfortunate  island  are  sucked  in  by  the  stream.  They  serve  for 
food  for  the  Iroquois,  who  take  them  out  of  the  water  with  their  canoes.  Between 
the  surface  of  the  water,  that  shelves  off  prodigiously,  and  the  foot  of  the  precipice, 
three  men  may  cross  it  abreast,  without  any  other  damage  than  a  sprinkling-  of 
some  few  drops  of  water. 


The  estimate  concerning  the  height  of  the  Falls  given  by  Father  Hennepin 
and  Baron  La  Hontaine  seems  greatly  exaggerated.  We  must  remember,  how- 
ever, that  it  comes  from  men,  little  used  to  estimating  distances.  Even  at  this  date, 
a  view  from  the  river  below  the  Falls  will  produce  upon  most  persons  a  much 
exaggerated  impression.  The  rush  of  waters  in  front  of  the  observer  apparently 
comes  down  in  a  tremendous  stream  from  the  arched  vaults  of  the  heavens  above. 

The  figures  given  by  Charlevoix  in  1721  were  undoubtedly  obtained  with  a 
view  to  an  accurate  estimation  of  the  height  of  the  Falls,  and  present  a  correct 
statement  of  the  case.  "For  my  own  part,  having  examined  it  on  all  sides,  where 
it  could  be  viewed  to  the  greatest  advantage,  I  am  inclined  to  think  we  cannot 
allow  it  less  than  one  hundred  and  forty  or  fifty  feet."  (In  the  measure  of  the 
time,  this  gives  the  exact  height  to  a  fraction.) 

25 


26 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY   NOTES. 


ETER    KALM,   a   noted   Swedish   botanist,  who  visited  the 
Falls  in  1750,  corroborates  the  statement  of  Father  Henne- 
pin about  a  rock   projecting  upon  the  west  side  of  the  river 
which  turned  a  part  of  the  water  at   right  angles  with   the 
Main    Fall,   thus    forming  a  Cross    Fall.      He    speaks  of  a 
precipitation   of  the  rocks  at  a  point  where  the  water  was 
turned  originally  out  of  its  direct  course,  as  having  occurred  a  few- 
years  previous  to  his  visit,  and  upon   his   plan  of  the   Falls    indicates 
the  precise  spot,   which   corresponds  to  that   stated  by   Hennepin. 
A   somewhat  doubtful   story  given   in   his  narrative,   is  that  of 
two   Indians,  who  having  been  cast  upon   the  island   in  the  middle 
of  the   Fall   (Goat  Island),   in   order  to  escape  made    rope  ladders 
from  the  bark  of  trees,  with  which  the)-  lowered   themselves  down 
to  the  river.      Feeling  unable  to   swim  against  "  the  waves  of  the 
eddy  which,   again    and    again,    threw    them    with   violence    against    the 
rocks,   they  were  obliged  to  climb  up  their    stairs    again   to  the    island, 
not  knowing  what  to  do.      After  some  time  they  perceived   Indians   on 
the  opposite  shore,   to  whom    they  cried  out.      These    pitied    them,   but 
gave  them   little  hopes  of  help;    yet  they  made  haste  down  to  the  fort,   and  told 
the  French  commander  where  two  of   their  brethren   were.      He  persuaded  them 
to   try  all   possible  means  of  relieving  the  two  poor  Indians;    and  it  was  done   in 
this  manner:     The  water  that  runs  on   the  east  side  of  the  island  is  shallow,  and 
breaks   in   rapids  over  the  rocks.     The  commandant  caused  poles  to  be  made  and 
pointed   with   iron;    two   Indians  determined  to  walk  to  this   island   by  the  help  of 
these  poles,  to  save  the  others  or  perish.      The)-  took  leave  of  their  friends,  as   if 
they  were  going  to  die.      Each  had  two  such  poles  in  his  hand,   to  set  against  the 
bottom   of  the  stream  to  keep  them   steady;    so  they  went  and  got  to  the  island, 
and  having  given   poles  to  the  poor   Indians  there,  the)-  all   returned  safely  to  the 
main   shore.      The    unfortunate   creatures   had   been    nine   days  on  the   island,   and 
were  almost  starved  to  death." 


fIBBE     PICQUET. 


U 


'  ABBE    PICQUET,    in    1 75 1 ,    speaks   in   positive  terms  of  the  number  of 

waterfalls.       He   says:      "This    cascade    is   as    prodigious    by  reason   of   its 

height    and    the    quantity  of  water  which   falls  there,   as   on  account  of  the 

variety  of  its  falls,  which  are   to   the  number  of  six   principal  ones   divided  by  a 

small  island,  leaving  three  to  the  north  and   three  to  the  south.       They  produce 

of   themselves  a  singular  symmetry  and  wonderful   effect." 


WELD'S    VISIT. 


TyVO  SKETCHES    made    upon    the   spot    by  the  English    artist    Weld    in 
1796,   and  reproduced    in  exact  fac-simile,   give  the  reader  a  most   correct 
idea  of  the  general  appearance  of  the   Falls  at  the  close  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  form  of  the  Horse-Shoe.     Weld  speaks  in  decided 
terms  of  a  change  in  the  features  of  the   Horse-Shoe  Fall,   saying:     "  Within  the 
memory  of  many  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  country,   the  _sS- 

falls  have  receded  several  yards.      Tradition  tells 
G       .  us  that  the  Great  Fall  instead  of  having  ^^  TSJb- 

been  in  the  form  of  a 


A£ 


horse  shoe,  once 
projected  in  the  middle. 
For  a  century  past,  however, 
it  has   remained   nearly  in   the 
present  form."      He  also  says  that 
he  saw  the  clouds  of  spray  from  the 
falls,  while  sailing  on  Lake   Erie  at  a  dis- 
tance of   fifty-four  miles.      A  comparison  of  his 
sketches  with  that  of  Father   Hennepin  will  convey  at  a 
glance  the  great  changes  of  a  century. 

This  writer  is,  in  a  measure,  addicted  to  the  marvellous,  and  his 
statements  are  somewhat  inconsistent.     The  stubborn   fact  is,  there  is 
nothing  known  of  the  falls  beyond  Hennepin's  day,  which  can  be  sustained 
either  by  historical  or  traditional  record." 

Arrowsmith  observes:  "A  person  may  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  falls,  and  take 
shelter  behind  the  torrent,  between  the  falling  water  and  the  precipice,  where  there 
is  a  space  sufficient  to  contain  a  number  of  persons  in  perfect  safety,  and  where 
conversation   ma)'  be  held  without  interruption   Irom   the  noise." 

28 


DISTANT   VIEW   OF   NIAGARA   FALLS,    1884. 

29 


HJDIJIN   LEGENDS 


LEGENDARY  associations  do  not  abound  around  Niagara.     The 

aborigines  viewed  the  great  cataract  with  religious  veneration,  as 

if  it  were  a  true   Divinity.     They  displayed  their  adoration  to  the 

Great  Spirit  of  the    Fall  by  casting    their    pipes,   wampum  and 


'  -  *  S^*ur*>  different  trinkets  into  the  flood,  and,  it  is  said,  the  belief  existed 
among  them  that  the  cataract  demands  a  yearly  sacrifice  of  two  human 
victims.  The  story  is  charmingly  and  strikingly  told  in  George  Houghton's 
poem  on  Niagara.  Let  us  abandon  our  prosaic  effort,  leaving  absolute 
sway  to  the  poet. 

"  Here,  when  the  world  was  wreathed  with  the  scarlet  and  gold  of  October, 
Here,  from  far-scattered  camps,  came  the  moccasined  tribes  of  the  red-man. 
Left  in  their  tents  their  bows,  forgot  their  brawls  and  dissensions, 
Ringed  thee  with  peaceful  fires,  and  over  their  calumets  pondered; 

'  Chose  from  their  fairest  virgins  the  fairest  and  purest 

among  them, 
Hollowed  a  birchen  canoe,  and  fashioned  a  seat  for 

the  virgin, 
Clothed  her  in  white,  and  set  her  adrift  to  whirl  to 
thy  bosom, 

Saying :     '  Receive  this  our  vow,  Niagara,  Father  of 
Waters!' 


- . .  * Lit  \..\ 


"  Lo!  drifting  toward  us  approaches  a  curious  tangle  of 
something ! 
White  and  untillered  it  floats,  bewitching  the  sight,  and 

appearing 
Like  to  a  birchen  canoe,  a  virgin  crouched  pallid  within  it, 
Hastening  with  martyr  zeal  to  solve  the  unriddled  here- 
after! 

"  Slower  and  smoother  her  Right,   until  on  the  precipice 
pausing, 
Just  for  the  space  of  a  breath  the  dread  of  the  change 

seems  to  thrill  her; 
Crossing  herself,  and  seeming  to  shudder,  she  lifts  eyes 

to  heaven, — 
Sudden  a  mist  upwhirls — I  see  not — but  know  all  is  over. 
:jo 


<V»;wi»%NJ  *>  ^^C&^spf^ 


THE   INDIAN'S   SACRIFICE   TO    NIAGARA'S   GODS. 

31 


I^ED   JACKET, 


'ThE  Last  of  the  Senecas, 


<&5jj> 


'HE  GREAT  orator  of  the  Senecas,  the  famous  chief  Red 
Jacket,  whose  Indian  name  was  Sa-go-ye-wat-ha,  or  "He 
keeps  them  awake,"  has  been  designated  as  "  The  last  of  the 
Senecas."  His  eloquence  was  the  glory  of  his  people,  and 
he  left  no  one  behind  to  fill  his  place  at  the  council-fire. 
Opposed  to  the  occupation  of  the  territory  of  the  Six 
Nations  by  the  whites,  his  voice  was  ever  raised  upon  all 
occasions  to  deprecate  the  cession  of  any  lands,  and  so  long 
as  he  lived  he  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  it.  Yet,  he  lived  long 
enough  to  mourn  the  loss,  by  piece-meal,  of  almost  the  entire  beautiful  region  over 
which  his  race  had  held  sway  from  the  early  days  of  tradition. 

Speaking  in  council  of  the  transaction  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites, 
from  the  first  settlement  of  the  country  down  to  that  day,  he  made  use  of  this 
figurative  illustration,  addressing  himself  to  the  Commissioner  who  had  just  com- 
municated the  desire  of  the  United  States,  that  the  Senecas  should  sell  their  lands: 
"  We  first  knew  you,"  said  he,  "  a  feeble  plant  which  wanted  a  little  earth  whereon 
to  grow.  We  gave  it  you, — and  afterward,  when  we  could  have  trod  you  under 
our  feet  we  watered  and  protected  you; — and  now  you  have  grown  to  be  a  mighty 
tree  whose  top  reaches  the  clouds,  and  whose  branches  overspread  the  whole  land ; 


whilst  we, 
who  were 
then  the  tall 
pine  of  the 
forest,  have 
become  the 
feeble  plant, 
and  need 
your  protec- 
tion." 
The  name  of 

war  of  the  American  Independence  he  received  from  a  British  officer  a  richly 
embroidered  scarlet  jacket  which  he  wore  until  it  became  a  mark  of  distinction  and 
gave  him  the  name  by  which  he  was  best  known.  He  died  on  the  20th  of  January, 
1830,  in  his  house  at  the  Seneca  village,  near  Buffalo,  at  the  probable  age  of  eighty 
years.  Less  than  nine  years  had  elapsed  after  his  decease  when  every  remaining 
foot  of  the  ancient  inheritance  of  the  Senecas  was  ceded  to  the  white  man. 

32 


THE    HOUSE    OF    RED   JACKET    AT    SENECA    VILLAGE. 


'  Red  Jacket' 
by  which  the 
old  chief  was 
so  familiarly 
known  to  the 
white  people, 
was  acquired 
through  the 
peculiarity  of 
his  dress. 
During    the 


PORTRAIT  OF   RED  JACKET. 

FROM  wriR'S  PA1NTJITC  ENGRAVED  BIT  BAJfrORIK. 
(r AC-SI  MILE.) 


33 


BELlOW   THE   GI^EJIT   F^LlIi. 


JOHN  M.  DUNCfiN. 


^\  ESI  ROUS  of  getting  to  the  bottom  of  the  Great  Fall,  I  made  my  way 
I  )  below  over  scattered  rocks,  and  surveyed  the  wondrous  scene  before  me, 
mentally  comparing  the  view  of  the  falls  from  below  with  that  which  I  had  enjoyed 
from  Table -Rock.  Of  the  magnitude  and  force  of  the  descending  torrents, 
we  have  here  a  much  more  impressive  conception,  for  as  we  see  no  part  of  the 
rapids  above,  and  indeed  nothing  of  the  flood  till  it  has  begun  its  descent  from  the 
cliff,  the  mind  is  occupied  almost  entirely  with  the  height  and  width  and  grandeur 
of  the  two  enormous  cascades.  We  look  up  in  amazement  at  the  uninterrupted 
pouring  of  so  vast  an  accumulation  of  waters;  and  were  this  the  only  view  which 
could  be  obtained,  it  would  seem  an  inscrutable  mystery  from  what  source  so 
immeasurable  a  volume  of  fresh  water  could  be  constantly  poured  forth. 

The  noise  of  the  falls  is  of  course  greatly  increased  below;  indeed  it  thunders 
in  the  ear  most  overpoweringly.  I  use  the  term  thunders  for  want  of  a  more 
appropriate  one,  but  it  by  no  means  conveys  any  adequate  idea  of  the  awfully 
deep  and  unvarying  sound. 

To  heighten  the  splendor  of  the  scene,  a  magnificent  rainbow,  pencilled  on 
the  clouds  of  spray,  and  perfectly  unbroken  from  end  to  end,  overarched  the  space 
between  the  one  bank  and  the  other,  at  the  widest  part.  This  in  so  entire  a 
state  is  rather  a  rare  occurrence,  for  though  the  prismatic  colors  are  always  visible 
during  sunshine,  floating  in  little  fragments  here  and  there,  they  only  unite  into 
a  regular  bow  in  particular  positions  of  the  sun,  and  never  complete  the  semi- 
circular curve  but  when  the  air,  as  happened  on  this  occasion,  is  perfectly  calm. 

A  beautiful  moonlight  evening  succeeded,  and  so  favorable  an  opportunity  of 
another  view  was  not  to  be  neglected.  The  moon's  rays  fell  directly  upon  the 
American  cascade,  leaving  the  greater  part  of  the  other  fall  in  deep  shadow.  The 
spray  appeared  to  rise  in  greatly  increased  volumes,  and  the  dim  light  mingling 
with  its  haze,  and  accompanied  by  a  perceptible  increase  in  the  sound  of  the 
cataracts,  imparted  to  the  whole  a  peculiar  sublimity  which  was  wanting  in  daylight. 


m 


HORSE-SHOE    FALLS 


wr»p  pip 


® 


ifi^ariC  5  C&npn ,  V*tpt  WVater^  9  real  d  t  > 
Mo  Mt  liXe,  thine.,  n°r  depths  the,  M^hlV  KtNncL 


f  iiW  Mh  vfoupht. 


cni 


h>/  catey act-  etupendouc  jj,  and  fierce; 
&  ipo  hur\om  voice,  op  ^ound  '  can  v/ir  pierce. 


nS^/'d^'^  curmih;  raid  Vfth  &Vful  Mi$n 
^r      Cyrcat  rocly,  that  nature  in  chaotic  ni6'ht- 


del  rear  on  high. 


i    "Vhirlioool  deep  Villi! n  thy"  Vallj  doth  hisc, 

%nd,  ratf'ino  'round,  jinks  doVn  in  dwrK  &l^ 


o  unknoVn  ckpthc- 


round    Ontario^  blue  and  "Vide  doMci'm, 


Do  yvNcuntstirif  check,  nor  l°fjy  karritrj  chain, 
^inc  outlet  vfcjt" 

T 

J^H    the  (Jreat  ocean1^  infinite  expanse 

ir|Tie   vdjtydeeiD. 


1 


7 


THE    OIiD    FKJ^V   LANDING, 


AMERICAN     SIDE, 


jUAIXT  and  curious  was  the  Landing  of  the  ferry  on  the  American  side  fifty 
years  ago.  In  those  days  people  took  whole  weeks  to  view  the  falls,  and 
delighted  in  ascending  leisurely  the  rugged  stairs  and  path,  stopping  and  turning 
round  almost  at  each  step  to  drink  in  the  ever-changing  glories  of  the  scene. 

"The  cliff  and  staircase  at  this  Landing,"  says  Willis,  "would  be  considered 
highly  picturesque  anywhere  but  at  the  side  of  Niagara.  The  hundred  stairs 
clinging  to  the  rock,  the  wild  vines  overgrowing  the  temporary  shed  under  which 

m  i 


THE  OLD 


FERRY   LAN]  I 


travellers  take  shelter  from  the  spray,  the  descending  and  ascending  figures,  and 
the  athletic  boatmen,  whose  occupation  of  pulling  across  this  troubled  ferry  requires 
herculean  strength  and  proportions,  all  form  a  subject  for  the  painter,  which  could 
only  be  disregarded  amid  the  engrossing  scenes  of  Niagara." 

When  the  mania  to  improve  Nature's  own  work  seized  the  property  owners 
around  the  falls,  the  old  landing  and  staircase  had  to  disappear  and  make  way  for 
quicker  means  of  transit.  This  picturesque  old  landmark  is  gone,  and  in  its  place 
stands  the  unartistic  and  unpicturesque  but  nevertheless  convenient  inclined  railway. 


37 


JIMKI^IGJIN   l^pPIDS, 


N.     P,     WILLIS. 


ZWJ 


HE  RAPIDS  are  far  from  being  the  least  interesting  feature  of  Niagara. 
There  is  a  violence  and  a  power  in  their  foaming  career,  which  is  seen  in  no 
phenomenon  of  the  same  class.  Standing  on  the  bridge  which  connects  Goat  Island 
with  the  Main,  and  looking  up  towards  Lake  Erie,  the  leaping  crests  of  the  rapids 
form  the  horizon,  and  it  seems  like  a  battle-charge  of  tempestuous  waves,  animated 
and  infuriated  against  the  sky. 

No  one  who  has  not  seen'  this  spectacle  of  turbulent  grandeur  can  conceive  with 
what  force  the  swift  and  overwhelming  waters  are  flung  upwards.  The  rocks,  whose 
soaring  points  show  above  the  surface,  seem  tormented  with  some  supernatural 
agony,  and  fling  off  the  wild  and  hurried  waters,  as  if  with  the  force  of  a  giant's 
arm.  Nearer  the  plunge  of  the  Fall,  the  Rapids  become  still  more  agitated;  and  it 
is  almost  impossible  for  the  spectator  to  rid  himself  of  the  idea,  that  they  are  con- 
scious of  the  abyss  to  which  they  are  hurrying,  and  struggle  back  in  the  very 
extremity  of  horror. 

This  propensity  to  invest  Niagara  with  a  soul  and  human  feelings  is  a  common 
effect  upon  the  minds  of  visitors,  in  every  part  of  its  wonderful  phenomena.  The 
torture  of  the  Rapids,  the  clinging  curves  with  which  they  embrace  the  small  rocky 
islands  that  live  amid  the  surge,  the  sudden  calmness  at  the  brow  of  the  cataract,  and 
the  infernal  writhe  and  whiteness  with  which  they  reappear,  powerless  from  the 
depths  of  the  abyss,  all  seem,  to  the  excited  imagination  of  the  gazer,  like  the  natural 
effects  of  impending  ruin,  desperate  resolution,  and  fearful  agony,  on  the  minds  and 
frames  of  mortals. 

During  the  Canadian  war  of  1814,  General  Putnam,  the  famous  partisan  soldier, 
made  the  first  descent  upon  Goat  Island.  A  wager  had  been  laid,  that  no  man  in 
the  army  would  dare  to  cross  the  Rapids  from  the  American  side;  and  with  the 
personal  daring  for  which  he  was  remarkable,  above  all  the  men  of  that  trying 
period,  he  undertook  the  feat.  Selecting  the  four  stoutest  and  most  resolute  men  in 
his  corps,  he  embarked  in  a  batteau  just  above  the  island,  and  with  a  rope  attached  to 
the  ring-bolt,  which  was  held  by  as  many  muscular  fellows  on  the  shore,  he  suc- 
ceeded by  desperate  rowing  in  reaching  his  mark.  He  most  easily  towed  back,  and 
the  feat  has  since  been  rendered  unnecessary  by  the  construction  of  the  bridge  from 
the  main  land  to  Goat  Island. 

38 


NipGpRH. 


"  Tremendous  toirent !  for  an  instant  hush 
Tho  terrors  of  thy  voiee,  and  east  aside 
Those  wide  involving  shadows,  that  my  eyes 
May  see  the  fearful  beauty  of  thy  face  ! 
****** 

Thou  flowest  on  in  quiet,  till  thy  waves 
Grow  broken  'midst  the  rocks;  thy  current  then 
Shoots  onward  like  the  irresistible  course 
( )f  destiny.     Ah,  terribly  they  rage, — 
The  hoarse  and  rapid  whirlpools  there  !     My  brain 
Grows  wild,  my  senses  wander,  as  I  gaze 
Upon  the  hurrying  waters;  and  my  sight 
Vainly  would  follow,  as  toward  the  verge 
Sweeps  tin-  wide  torrenl      Waves  innumerable 
Meet  there  and  madden, —  waves  innumerable 
Urge  on  ami  overtake  the  waves  before, 
And  disappear  in  thunder  and  in  foam. 

They  reach,  they  leap  the  barrier.  —  tin-  abyss 

Swallows  insatiable  the  sinking  waves. 

A  thousand  rainbows  arch  them,  and  woods 

Are  deafened  with  the  roar.     The  violent  shock 

Shatters  to  vapor  the  descending  sheets. 

A  cloudy  whirlwind  (ills  the  gulf,  and  heaves 

The  mighty  pyramid  of  circling  mist 

To  heaven.  *  *  *  * 

What  seeks  my  restless  eye'    Why  are  not   here, 

About  the  jaws  of  this  abyss,  the  palms. — 

All,  the  delicious  palms, —  that  on  the  plains 

Of  my  own  native  Cuba  spring  and  spread 

Their  thickly  foliaged  summits  to  the  sun. 

And,  in  the  breathings  of  the  ocean  air 

Wave  soft  beneath  the  heaven's  unspotted  blue'' 

But  no,  Niagara, —  thy  forest  pines 
Are  fitter  coronal  for  thee.     The  palm. 
The  effeminate  myrtle  and  pale  rose  may  grow 
In  gardens  and  give  out  their  fragrance  there, 
Unmanning  him  who  breathes  it.     Thine  it   is 
To  do  a  nobler  office.     Generous  minds 
Behold  thee,  and  are  moved  ami  learn  to  rise 
Above"  earth's  frivolous  pleasures;  they  partake 
Thy  grandeur  at  (lie  utterance  of  thy  name. 
****** 

Dread  torrent,  that  with  wonder  and  with  fear 
Dost  overwhelm  (lie  soul  of  him  who  looks 
I  pon   thee,  and  dost  bear  it  from  itself,— 
Whence  hast  tiieu  thy  beginning?    Who  supplies 
kge  after  age,  thy  unexhausted  springs? 
What   power  hath  ordered  that,  when  all  thy  weight 
Descends  into  the  deep,  the  swollen  waxes 
Rise  not  and  roll  to  overwhelm  the  earth  ? 

The  Lord  hath  opened  his  omnipotent  hand. 
Covered  thy  face  with  clouds  and  given  his  voice 
To  thy  down-rushing  waters:   he  hath  girl 
Thy  terrible   forehead  with   his  radiant  bow. 

I  see  thy  never-resting  waters  run. 
And  I  bethink  me  how  the  tide  of  time 
Sweep-   to  eternity." 

Translated  from  ti"  Spanish  of  Maria  JoseHereA 
by  William  Cullcn  Bryant. 


T    CORONAL.' 


JILlBUM    sketch. 


BY    CDL.    PORTER. 


N  ARTIST,  underneath  his  sign  (a  masterpiece,  of  course) 
Had  written,  to  prevent  mistakes,  'This  represents  a  horse'  : 
So  ere  I  send  my  Album  Sketch,  less  connoisseurs  should  err, 
I  think  it  well  my  Pen  should  be  my  Art's  interpreter. 

"  A  chieftain  of  the  Iroquois,  clad  in  a  bison's  skin, 
Had  led  two  travelers  through  the  wood,  La  Salle  and  Hennepin. 
He  points,  and  there  they,  standing,  gaze  upon  the  ceaseless  flow 
Of  waters  falling  as  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 

'  Those  three  are  gone,  and  little  heed  our  worldly  gain  or  loss  — 
The  Chief,  the  Soldier  of  the  Sword,  the  Soldier  of  the  Cross. 
One  died  in  battle,  one  in  bed,  and  one  by  secret  foe  ; 
But  the  waters  fall  as  once  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago 

'  Ah,  me !  what  myriads  of  men,  since  then,  have  come  and  gone  ; 
What  states  have  risen  and  decayed,  what  prizes  lost  ami  won  ; 
What  varied  tricks  the  juggler,  Time,  has  played  with  all  below : 
But  the  waters  fall  as  once  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 

1  What  troops  of  tourists  have  encamped  upon  the  river's  brink  ; 
What  poets  shed  from  countless  quills  Niagaras  of  ink  : 
What  artist  armies  tried  to  fix  the  evanescent  bow 
Of  the  waters  falling  as  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 


'  And  stately  inns  feed  scores  of  guests  from  well  replenished  larder, 
And  hac'kmen  drive  their  horses  hard,  but  drive  a  bargain  harder  : 
And  screaming  locomotives  rush  in  anger  to  and  fro  : 
But  the  waters  fall  as  once  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 

1  And  brides  of  every  age  and  clime  frequent  the  island's  bower, 
And  gaze  from  off  the  stone-built  perch  —  hence  called  the  Bridal  Tower 
And  many  a  lunar  belle  goes  forth  to  meet  a  lunar  beau, 
By  the  waters  falling  as  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 

'And  bridges  bind  thy  breast,  O  stream!  and  buzzing  mill-wheels  turn, 
To  show,  like  Samson,  thou  art  forced  thy  daily  bread  to  earn  : 
And  steamers  splash  thy  milk-white  waves,  exulting  as  they  go. 
But  the.  waters  fall  as  once  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 

'  Thy  banks  no  longer  are  the  same  that  early  travelers  found  them. 
But  break  and  crumble  now  and  then  like  other  banks  around  them  : 
And  on  their  verge  our  life  sweeps  on  —  alternate  joy  and  woe  ; 
But  the  waters  fall  as  once  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago. 

'  Thus  phantoms  of  a  by-gone  age  have  melted  like  the  spray. 
And  in  our  turn  we  too  shall  pass,  the  phantoms  of  to-day ; 
But  the  armies  of  the  coming  time  shall  watch  the  ceaseless  flow 
Of  waters  falling  as  they  fell  two  hundred  years  ago." 

40 


THE   CHIEF,  THE   SOLDIER  OF   THE  SWORE*,  THE   SOLDIER  OF  THE  CROSS.' 

41 


BKHIND    THE   SHEET   OF    WJITEF?. 


CHAS.    R.    MURRAY, 


CWPET  HIM  whose  spirit  delights  in  the  awful  sublimity  of  nature,  who  loves 
the  war  of  elements,  and  the  secret  and  mysterious  paths  of  darkness, 
descend  from  the  Table-Rock,  and  undeterred  by  the  wind  and  spray  that 


wil 


appear    to    oppose    his    entrance,  —  let   him    walk 


along-  a 


narrow  ledge    that 


extends  about  one  hundred  feet  under  the  great  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  and  there,  with  his 
back  to  the  huge  beetling  rock, 
above  him  the  canopy  of  rushing 
waters,  before  him  and  all  around 
a  tempestuous  whirlwind  of 
foam,  and  beneath  his  feet  a 
raging-  and  boiling  unfathomed 
abyss, —  let  him  meditate  on  the 
littleness  of  man,  and  on  the  at- 
tributes of  Him  who  metes  out 
those  waters  in  the  hollow  of 
his  hand. 

When  I  followed  the  guide  in- 
to this  stormy  recess,  there  was 
a  strong  breeze  of  wind,  and  the 
spray  was  dashed  against  our 
faces  with  such  unusual  violence 
as  to  render  it  almost  impossible 
upon  first  entering,  to  keep  the 
eyes  open,  or  to  respire.  How- 
ever, by  slouching  the  hat  over 
my  eyes  and  holding  my  breath, 
I  followed  the  guide  without  diffi- 
culty to  the  interior  of  the  rocky 
chambers  where  the  spray  and 
whirlwind  are  less  violent,  and 
where  the  faculties  of  seeing, 
hearing  and  feeling  are  restored. 
I  pursued  the  little  path  or  ledge 
to  its  farthest  extremity,  at  a 
point  called  Termination  Rock  : 
and,  seating  myself,  regardless 
of  the  "pelting  of  the  pitiless 
storm,"  I  revelled  in  the  glori- 
ous  and  terrible  scene  before 
me.  To  describe  it  further  I 
will  not  attempt. 


OCK   IN    1835 


(faC-SIMILE.) 


42 


(JJ1PTJ1IN    HjmLi'S    NJH^JITIIfK. 


N    FIRST  coming  to  a  scene  so    stupendous    and  varied 

as  that  of  Niagara,  the  attention  is  embarrassed  by  the 

crowd  of  new  objects;  and  it  always  requires  a  certain 

degree  of  time  to  arrange  the  images  which  are  sugf- 

gested,  before  they  can   be    duly  appreciated.       After 

reaching  the  Falls,  we  had  still  enough  of  daylight  to 

take  a  hasty   view  of   them  before  going  to  bed;  and 

whether  it  was  owing  to  the  jolting  of  the  rough  roads, 

or  to  the  fatigue  of  over-excited  admiration,  I  do  not  know, 

but  I  soon  dropped  into  a  profound  sleep,  in   spite  of  all 

the    roaring    close    at  hand.       About  two    o'clock  in    the 

morning,  while   I  was  dreaming  of  one  particular  part  ot 

the    fall,   called    the    Horse-Shoe,   which   had    struck     me 

as  being  more  particularly  solemn   than   all   the   rest   put 

together,   I   was  awakened  by  a  feeble  cry  from   my  little 

girl,  and  set  off  in   quest  of  a  light.       In    groping    along 

the   passages,   I    came    accidentally  to  an    open    window. 

where  my  ear  was  arrested  by  the  loud  splashing  noise 

of  the  rapids  above  the  falls,  dashing  past,  immediately  under  ' 

the  veranda.      The  deep  sound  of  the  more  distant  cascade 

was  also  heard,  far  louder,  and  quite  different  in   kind   from 

that  of  the  rapids.      For  the  first  time  I  became  conscious  of 

the  full  magnificence  of  the  scene. 

The  night  was  very  dark,  though  the  stars  were  out, 
twinkling  and  flashing  over  the  cataract;  and  there  rose  a 
damp,  earthy  smell  from  the  ground,  as  if  the  dew  had  been  settling  heavily  upon 
it;  or  perhaps  it  might  be  the  spray  from  the  falls.  There  was  not  the  slightest 
breath  of  wind  to  shake  the  drops  from  the  leaves,  and  I  stood  for  some  time 
endeavoring  to  recollect  what  I  had  met  with  before  that  resembled  this.  The 
hollow  sound  of  the  surf  at  Madras  was  at  length  brought  to  my  thoughts  as  the 
nearest  thing  to  it. 

ON    GOAT    ISLAND. 

The  Falls  are  divided  into  two  parts  by  Goat  Island,  on  which  we  passed  the 
greater  part  of  the  next  day.  We  walked  round  the  Island  several  times  in 
the  course  of  the  day,  and  though  it  affords  a  great  variety  of  admirable  views  oi 

13 


the  falls,  and  also  of  the  rapids,  both  on  the  American  and  on  the  English  sides  of 
the  river,  we  always  found  ourselves  drawn  back  irresistibly  to  the  Great  Horse- 
Shoe,  where  the  largest  portion  of  the  stream  passes  on  a  concave  edge,  and  where, 
from  its  depth,  I  suppose,  it  acquires  a  deep  green  color,  seen  at  no  other  part 
of  the  cascade;  almost  all  the  rest  being  nearly  snow-white. 

In  hunting  for  similes  to  describe  what  we  saw  and  heard,  we  were  quite 
agreed  that  the  sound  of  the  falls  most  nearly  resembles  that  of  a  grist  mill,  of  large 
dimensions.  There  is  precisely  the  same  incessant,  rumbling,  deep,  monotonous 
sound,  accompanied  by  the   tremor,  which  is  observable  in  a  building  where  many 


pairs  of  millstones 
are  at  work.  This 
tremulous  effect 
extends  to  the  dis- 
tance of  several 
hundred  yards 
from  the  river ;  but 
is  most  conspicu- 
ous on  Goat  Is- 
land, which  stands 
in  the  center  be- 
t  w  e  e  n  the  two 
falls.  The  noise 
of  the  rapids  is 
also  loud,  but 
much  sharper,  and 
varies  a  good  deal 
with  the  situation 
of  the  listener. 
We  were  walking 
one  day  along  a 
path  in  the  woods 

on    the  island,  at  ON  GOAT  IS"NI>-  saw -mills,    and 

numerous  other  raw,  staring,  wooden  edifices.  Perhaps  it  is  quite  as  well  that  it 
should  be  so;  because  any  scenery  which  should  be  in  keeping  with  the  grand  object 
which  gives  its  character  to  this  wonderful  spot,  would,  in  all  probability,  diminish 
the  effect  produced  by  its  standing  on  its  own  merits. 

THE    FIRST    GOAT    ISLAND    BRIDGE. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  is  always  something  about  a  bridge  which  interests, 
more  or  less.  If  it  be  not  picturesque  in  itself,  it  may  be  curious  in  its  structure, 
or  high,  or  long,  or  may  possess  something  or  other  to   attract  notice.      At  all 

44 


ON    GOAT   ISLAND. 


some  distance 
from  the  Great 
Cataract,  and 
there,  it  struck  me, 
the  sound  of  the 
rapids  resembled 
not  a  little  the 
noise  caused  by  a 
heavy  shower  of 
rain  on  the  leaves 
of  a  forest  in  a 
calm. 

The  scenery  in 
the  neighborhood 
of  Niagara  has, 
in  itself,  little  or 
no  interest,  and 
has  been  rendered 
still  less  attractive 
by  the  erection  of 
hotels,  paper 
manufactories, 


45 


events,  the  bridge  which  connects  the  main  American  shore  with  Goat  Island  is  one 
of  the  most  singular  pieces  of  engineering  in  the  world,  and  shows,  not  only  much 
ingenuity,  but  boldness  of  thought  in  its  projector,  the  owner  of  the  island.  It  is 
between  six  and  seven  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  is  thrown  across  one  of  the  worst 
parts  of  the  rapids,  not  more  than  fifty  yards  above  the  crest  of  the  American  Fall. 
It  is  made  of  wood,  and  consists  of  seven  straight  portions,  resting  on  wooden  piers, 
so  contrived  as  to  have  perfect  stability,  although  the  foundation  on  which  they  rest 
is  extremely  unequal.  The  bed  of  the  river  at  that  place  is  covered  with  rounded 
and  angular  rocks  of  irregular  sizes.  Along  this  rugged  and  steep  bottom  the  river 
dashes  in  a  torrent,  covered  with  breakers  and  foam,  at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven 
miles  an  hour,  making  a  noise  not  unlike  that  of  the  sea  on  a  shallow  ledge  of 
rocks.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  we  drove  towards  Lake  Ontario  for  six 
or   seven  miles   on   the   right  bank  of  the  Niagara,   and  then  crossed  over  to  the 

Canada   shore  at  Queenstown.     Close    to 
the  spot  where  we  landed  there  stands  a 
monument  to  the   o-allant  General   Brock, 
who     was     killed     during    the     battle     of 
Queenstown,   in  the    act    of   repelling    an 
invasion  of  the  frontier  by  the  Americans 
during  the  war  of  1812.     The  view  from 
the    top   of   the   monument    extended    far 
over    Lake   Ontario,  and   showed    us    the 
windings  of  the  Niagara  through  the  low 
and    wooded    country  which    hangs 
like    a    rich   preen  frino-e  alonp;  the 
southern  skirt  of  that  great  sheet  of 
water.      By  the  time  we  reached  the 
inn,  close  to  the  falls  on  the  Enelislh 
side,   we    had  barely   light    enough 
left  to  see  the  cataract  from  the  bal- 
cony of  our  bedroom — distant  from 
it,  in  a  straight  line,  not  a  couple  of 
hundred    yards.       I    cannot  bring   myself   to 
attempt  any  description  of  the  pleasure  which 
we  experienced,  while   thus   sitting    at    ease, 
and   conscious    of  viewing,   in    sober    reality, 
and  at  leisure,  an  object  with  which  we  had 
been  familiar,  in  fancy  at  least,  all  our  lives. 
The  Falls  of  Niagara  infinitely  exceeded  our 
anticipations,  and  fulfilled  our  expectations, 

46 


(23  *  I 

f¥fer 

i  * 


I 


IMPRESSIONS. 


JflME  S    STUART. 


Sp 


HE  FIRST  sight  only  increased  our  desire  to  have  the  whole  scene  unfolded. 
We  hurried  to  the  Table-Rock,  which  projects  and  looks  over  the  falls,  and  to 
the  other  stations  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  river.  We  afterward  crossed  the  river 
in  a  small  boat,  about  200  or  300  yards  below  the  falls,  saw  them  from  the 
American  side,  and  from  Goat  Island,  and  hardly  quitted  the  spot  while  daylight 
remained.  The  overwhelming  sensations,  with  which  a  spectator  can  hardly  fail  to 
be  affected,  are 
produced  by  the 
immense  flood,  — 
not  less  than  100 
millions  of  tons  of 
water  per  hour, — 
the  stupendous 
mass,  and  over- 
powering force  of 
the  roaring  and 
falling  waters.  It 
is  in  truth  a  great 
deep  ocean,  thrown 
over  a  precipice 
160  feet  high. 
Every  thing,  every 
surrounding  object, 
is  viewed  with 
indifference,  while 
the  mind  is  wholly 
absorbed  in  the 
contemplation  of  a 
a  spectacle    so 


sublime,—  surpass- 
ing in  majesty,  and 
grandeur,  and 
power,  all  the  works 
of  nature  which 
have  ever  arrested 
the  attention,  or 
presented  them- 
selves to  the  imaei- 
nation.  No  just  or 
adequate  descrip- 
tion can  be  con- 
veyed by  language. 
Such  words  as 
grandeur,  majesty, 
sublimity,  fail  alto- 
gether to  express 
the  feelings  which 
so  magnificent  a 
sight,  exceeding  so 
immeasurably  all 
of  the  same  kind 
that  we  have  ever 

seen  or  imagined,  excites.     Truly,  as  the  poet  says,  the  eye  of  man  must  see  this 
miracle  to  comprehend  it,  or  the  feelings  it  produces. 

The  great  volume  of  water,  of  course,  inclines  very  much  forward  in  its  descent, 
projecting  about  fifty  feet  from  the  base,  and  falls,  for  the  most  part  of  the  perpen- 
dicular height,  in  an  unbroken  sheet  of  dark  green  color,  until  it  meets  a  cloud  of 
spray  ascending  from  the  rocks  below,  in  which  it  is  lost  to  the  eye. 

47 


PROSPECT    POINT    IN    1835 


THE    HOI?SE=SHOE    Yjllili. 


N.    P.    WILLI  S. 


HE   HORSE-SHOE  FALL,  as  a  single  object,   is  unquestionably 

j]  the  sublimest  thing  in  nature.     To  know  that  the  angle  of  the  cataract, 

from  the  British  shore  to  the  tower,  is  near  half  a  mile  in  length  ;   that 

W   it  falls  so  many  feet  with  so  many  tons  of  water  a  minute  ;   or  even  to 

see  it,  as  here,  admirably  represented  by  the  pencil ;  conveys  no  idea 

to  the  reader  of  the  impression  produced  on  the  spectator.     One  of  the 

most  remarkable  things  about  Niagara  is  entirely  lost  in  the  drawing — 

its  motion.     The  visitor  to  Niagara  should  devote  one  day  exclusively  to 

the  observation  of  this  astonishing  feature. 

The  broad  flood  glides  out  of  Lake  Erie  with  a  confiding  tranquility 
that  seems  to  you,  when  you  know  its  impending  destiny,  like  that  of  a 
human  creature  advancing  irresistibly,  but  unconsciously,  to  his  death. 
He  embraces  the  bright  islands  that  part  his  arms  for  a  caress  ;  takes  into  his 
bosom  the  calm  tribute  of  the  Tonewanta  and  Unnekuqua  —  small  streams  that 
come  drowsing  through  the  wilderness  —  and  flows  on,  till  he  has  left  Lake  Erie 
far  behind,  bathing  the  curving  sides  of  his  green  shores  with  a  surface  which  only 
the  summer  wind  ruffles.  The  channel  begins  to  descend;  the  still  unsuspecting 
waters  fall  back  into  curling  eddies  along  the  banks,  but  the  current  in  the  centre 
flows  smoothly  still.  Suddenly  the  powerful  stream  is  flung  with  accumulated  swift- 
ness among  broken  rocks  ;  and,  as  you  watch  it  from  below,  it  seems  tossed  with 
the  first  shock  into  the  very  sky.  It  descends  in  foam,  and  from  this  moment  its 
agony  commences. 

For  three  miles  it  tosses  and  resists,  and,  racked  at  every  step  by  sharper 
rocks  and  increased  rapidity,  its  unwilling  and  choked  waves  fly  back,  to  be  again 
precipitated  onward,  and  at  last  reach  the  glossy  curve  convulsed  with  supernatural 
horror.  They  touch  the  emerald  arch,  and  in  that  instant,  like  the  calm  that  fol- 
lows the  conviction  of  inevitable  doom,  the  agitation  ceases, —  the  waters  pause  — 
the  foam  and  resistance  subside  into  a  transparent  stillness, — and  —  slowly  and 
solemnly  the  Vexed  and  tormented  sufferer  drops  into  the  abyss. 

Every  spectator,  every  child,  is  struck  with  the  singular  deliberation,  the 
unnatural  slowness,  with  which  the  waters  of  Niagara  take  their  plunge.  The 
laws  of  gravitation  seem  suspended,  and  the  sublimit)-  of  the  tremendous  gulf 
below  seems  to  check  the  descending  victim  on  the  verge,  as  if  it  paused  in 
awe. — American   Scenery. 


48 


3  2 
;  a 


49 


P    THI^IIiIiINGr   ESCAPE 


WM.    HDSES    HilLLDU 


PARTY  of  four,  including  the  writer,  made  a  survey  of  the  interior  of  the 
J  -JL   canyon  from  Lewiston  to  the  Suspension  Bridge.     The  perils  of  such  a  passage 
arc  known  to  but  few,  and  can  only  be  realized  by  the  daring  adventurer  who  may 
undertake  it  for  himself.      Indeed,  the  foot  of  man  scarcely  ever  treads  this  infernal 
region,  where  on  every  hand  one  is  beset  by  untold  difficulties.      With  great  caution 
we  clambered  along,  making  a  fearful  yet  intensely  exciting  exploration.     At  times 
the  river  would  rise  suddenly  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  as  if 
some  dam  above  had  broken,  causing  a  hasty  retreat  up  the        H,  v%~\^pf 
canyon's   sides.     From  points  above   loose  fragments  of    £&    ■<*;- 
rocks  precipitated  themselves,  causing  a  lively  scat- 
tering beneath.     An   occasional  rattlesnake  leaped 
from  his  den  in  astonishment  at  such  intrusion,  only  ;>H ^riA---1 
to  yield  his  life  as  a  penalty.     Here  and  there 
o-ieantic    bowlders    reared    their    heads    from 
the  water's  edge,  necessitating  a  difficult  and 
dangerous  passage  around  or 
over.     Once  the  writer  saw  a 
bird's  nest  on   the   extremity 
of  an  alder,  which  leaned  well 
over    the    seething,    whirling 
waters.    Our  approach  caused 
a  rare  sparrow  to  flit  away  in 
alarm.    Without  thought,  save 
of  the    acquisition    of   a    rare    egg,    I 
threw   by  my  coat  and  sprang  into  the 
branches.      I   had   gone   but   half   way 
out  on   the.  limb   when   a  wild   cry  of 
alarm  caused   me  to  look  around,  just 
in  time  to  see  the  roots  of  the  little  tree 
being  wrenched  from  their  place  by  my 

weight  and  the  fierce  current.  I  gave  a  spring  and  landed  safely,  just  in  the  instant 
as  the  tree  fell  into  the  waters  and  was  hurried  out  of  sight.  Getting  into  the  canyon 
at  Lewiston  was  comparatively  easy,  but  making  one's  way  out  near  the  Falls  was 
another  thing.  Nearly  a  mile  below  Devaux  College,  situated  a  little  north  of  the 
railway  bridge,  the  possibility  of  making  our  way  along  the  river's  edge  ceased. 
Night  was  approaching,  and  a  day's  hard  work  would  be  required  to  reach  Lewiston, 

50 


PON    FROM    THE    MOUNTAIN- 


at  the  foot  of  the  canyon,  from  which  point  we  entered.  Above,  the  rocks  towered 
several  hundred  feet.  We  had  the  alternative  of  remaining  in  the  gorge  over  night, 
where  life  was  momentarily  uncertain,  or  of  fighting  our  way  over  an  almost  impass- 
able passage  to  the  foot  of  the  steps  leading  down  from  the  college.  We  determined 
to  accept  the  latter.  After  an  hour's  climb  over  tangled  masses  of  fallen  trees,  logs, 
and  bowlders,  we  made  our  way  to  a  narrow  ridge,  one  hundred  feet  from  the  top, 
formed  of  fallen  debris.  The  scene  from  this  point  beggared  description.  Beneath 
was  one  frightful  mass  of  rocks  and  trees.  One  false  step  and  the  fated  individual 
would  have  plunged  to  a  horrible  doom.  We  followed  the  ridge  for  perhaps  a  half 
mile,  when  it  came  to  an  abrupt  termination.  In  front  were  bare  walls  of  perpen- 
dicular rocks,  extending  from  the  top  one  hundred  feet  above,  straight  down  to  the 
rushing  waters  two  hundred  feet  below  The  interim  to  be  crossed,  if  possible,  was 
several  rods  in  breadth.  Despair  stalked  abroad  on  every  side.  The  setting  sun 
cast  his  flickering  rays  upon  an  almost  certain  doom  to  the  daring  mortal  who  should 
attempt  that  passage.  Just  above  our  heads  a  crevice  in  the  rocks  was  discovered 
which  seemed  to  cross  the  face  of  the  rocks.  The  thought  of  passing  it  was  startling, 
but  hurriedly  agreed  upon.  There  seemed  to  be  room  for  the  toes  to  cling,  but  the 
chances  of  a  place  for  the  hands  seemed  slender  and  treacherous. 

The  various  instruments  were  divided  among  the  party  by  lot,  the  box  contain- 
ing the  heavy  theodolite  falling  to  the  writer.  The  tallest  clambered  on  to  the  crevice 
first,  the  others  assisting  and  following,  until  the  writer,  smallest  and  last,  was  safely 
drawn  up.  A  perilous  and  cautious  passage  began.  The  face  of  the  rock  was 
slippery,  and  the  niches  where  the  hand  could  cling  few  and  far  between.  One 
carrying  a  coat  on  his  arm,  in  a  moment  of  trepidation  let  the  garment  fall,  and  in 
an  instant  it  was  whirled  out  of  sight  by  the  seething  waters  below.  Another 
unloosed  a  bowlder,  which  took  a  frightful  plunge  downward,  leaving  a  great  open 
space  beneath.  By  mutual  assistance  all  had  safely  passed  across,  when  the  writer, 
with  the  heavy  instrument  upon  his  back,  was  midway  on  the  passage.  Here  a 
sharp  point  of  rock,  just  breast  high,  impeded  the  way.  In  attempting  to  get  around 
this,  the  foot  failed  to  find  a  resting  place.  To  get  under  was  impossible  —  above 
there  was  no  fingerhold.  The  heavy  instrument  behind  seemed  to  weigh  down  like 
a  mountain,  and  was  rapidly  displacing  the  point  of  balance.  The  slender  hold  was 
relaxing;  ioo  feet  above  was  the  calm,  safe  world — 250  below,  the  merciless  waters. 
One  foot  slipped  off,  and  was  going  down  —  down  ;  a  mist  came  over  the  eyes  and 
all  seemed  lost,  when  the  foot  caught  on  a  slender  bush,  a  hand  grasped  the  back  and 
drew  me  on  to  a  firm  footing.  Just  then  the  sun  sank  from  sight,  but  not  until  he 
saw  the  adventurers  safe  on  the  steps  of  the  college. 


51 


TJIBIiE    I^OGK. 


ROUND  Table  Rock  cluster  some  of  the  pleasantest  and  most  impres- 
sive memories  of  the  Great  Falls.  A  projecting  table-like  ledge  of  rock, 
situate  at  the  angle  formed  by  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall  with  the  Canadian 
bank,  and  in  the  same  plane  with  the  crest  of  the  cataract,  it  has  always  been  a 
favorite  resort  for  those  whose  spirit  delights  in  close  and  deep  communion  with 
this  marvel  of  Nature.  "  He  who  admires  Nature  in  her  stern  and  magnificent 
array,  should  stand  upon  the  Table  Rock,"  says  Murray.  "There  ' Presentiorem 
Conspiciet  Deum,' — there  the  tremendous  roar  will  stun  his  ear — the  mingled  masses 
of  waters  and  of  foam  will  bewilder  his  eye  —  his  mind  will  be  overwhelmed  by 
contending  feelings  of  elevation  and  depression — and,  unless  he  be  colder  than  the 
very  rock  on  which  he  stands,  the  thoughts  that  press  upon  his  brain,  will  be  high, 
pure,  and  enthusiastic,  and  his  hot  brow  will  welcome  the  cool,  light  spray  that  is 
ever  falling  around  that  holy  spot." 

Originally  an  immense  table  of  rock  extending  far  beyond  and  at  right  angles 
with  the  waters  of  the  Horse-Shoe;  its  form  and  dimensions  have  been  materially 
changed  by  frequent  and  violent  disruptions.  In  1818  a  mass  broke  off  in  its 
immediate  proximity,  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  length  by  thirty  to  forty  feet  in 
width.  In  the  latter  part  of  1828  and  beginning  of  1829,  the  fall  of  several  masses 
occurred,  leaving  the  table-shaped  ledge  without  support  on  the  north  and  south 
sides.  At  mid-day  on  the  26th  of  June,  1850,  a  terrible  noise,  which  shook  the 
earth,  startled  the  inhabitants  for  miles  around  the  Falls.  Table  Rock  remained 
only  as  a  memory  of  the  past — a  narrow  bench  along  the  bank.  The  huge  mass 
which  fell  was  over  two  hundred  feet  long,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  one  hundred  feet 
deep  where  it  separated  from  the  bank.  A  solitary  stableman,  washing  an  omnibus 
on  the  rock,  escaped  with  his  life,  the  vehicle,  of  which  no  subsequent  traces  could 
be  seen  or  found,  falling  into  the  abyss. 

The  general  view  is  more  extensive  and  effective  at  this  point  than  any  others, 
embracing,  in  addition  to  the  Falls,  the  Canadian  Rapids  above,  with  sharp,  white- 
crested  waves,  coming  in  rush  and  tumble  to  the  calm  edge  of  the  Fall  to  be  engulfed 
in  an  instant  amid  the  foaming  waters  in  the  chasm  below.  "The  ocean  stretching 
beyond  reach  of  vision,  or  swooping  the  sternest  lee-shore,  is  a  feebler  emblem  of 
power  than  is  the  inevitable  and  despairing  rush  with  which  these  tortured  waters 
plunge  down.     The  Rapids  are  a  fit  portal  for  Niagara." 

The  sight  of  the  gulf  below  is  one  that  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  water 
breaks  into  spray  at  the  very  top,  and  sends  up  a  steam  from  the  inexplorable  abyss, 
which  shrouds  all  below  in  most  terrific  obscurity.  A  portion  of  the  vapor  rises 
between  the  descending  water  and  the  rock,  and  comes  whirling  out  in  the  most 


violent  agitation;  and  the  deep  hollow  sound  of  the  Cataract,  reverberating  from  the 
rocky  caverns,  completes  the  elements  of  sublimity  with  which  the  scene  is  charged. 
Below  the  bank  lies  a  rugged  path  leading  to  "Termination  Rock,"  under  the 
western  end  of  the  Horse-Shoe.  It  is  reached  by  means  of  an  ingeniously  con- 
structed spiral  staircase,  securely  fastened  to  the  rocky  bank.  Of  the  view  around 
the  base  of  the 


stairs,  a  writer 
i  n  Harpers' 
Magazine  said: 
"You  find  your- 
self below  the 
overhanging 
mass  of  Table 
Rock.  You  are 
close  at  the 
edge  of  the  fall- 
ing water,  which 
descends  in  a 
mass  apparent- 
ly as  solid  as 
though  carved 
from  marble. 
You  now  begin 
to  comprehend 
the  height  of 
the  Fall.  It 
makes  you  diz- 
zy to  look  up 
to  the  upper 
edge  of  the 
rushing  column 


THE    FALL  OF  TABLE    ROCK. 


— y ou  stand 

just  midway  between  the  top  and  \ 
the  bottom.  Above  you  hangs  the 
imminent  mass  of  Table  Rock; 
below,  far  down  by  the  wet  and 
the  mind.  The  impressiveness  ot  the  scene  behind  the  immense  sheet  of  the 
principal  Cataract,  will  full}'  repay  for  the  peril  and  discomfort  attending  upon  a  visit 
to  it.  The  pendant  roof  of  rock  above,  the  arching  waters,  and  the  abyss  of  foam 
below,  are  objects  that  awaken  emotions  the  sublimit}'  v(  which  is  sometimes  oppres- 
sive, and  yet  always  pleasingly  awful. 


jagged  rocks,  is 
a  boiling  whirl- 
pool, where  the 
water  writhes 
and  eddies  as 
though  frenzied 
with  its  fearful 
leap.  Round 
and  round  it 
goes  in  solemn 
gyrations,  bear- 
ing with  it  what- 
ever floating 
object  may  have 
been  plunged 
into  its  vortex." 
The  view  of 
the  Falls  from 
this  point  is  un- 
surpassed, as  it 
presents  a 
scene  of  Niag- 
ara to  the  view 
at  one  instant 
of  time,  com- 
pletely filling 
the  field  of  vis- 
ion, and  giving 
tin-  full  impress 
of  its  grandeur 
and  beauty  to 


Mf:: 


;   Jjjt 


s»£~. 


TERRAPIN   ROCKS. 


54 


THK    HKI^MIT   OF   THE    FJIIiLlS. 


MRS.    SIQDURNEY, 

j 

URING   the   year    [829,  in    the   glow    of  early 

summer,  a  young  stranger,  of  pleasing  counte- 
nance and  person,  made  his  appearance  at 
Pf*,:"  Niagara.  It  was  at  first  conjectured  that  he 
it  might  be  an  artist,  as  a  large  portfolio,  with 
books  and  musical  instruments,  were  observed 
among  his  baggage.  He  was  deeply  impressed 
by  the  majesty  and  sublimity  of  the  Cataract,  and 
its  surrounding  scenery,  and  expressed  an  intention 
to  remain  a  week,  that  he  might  examine  it  accurately.  But 
the  fascination  which  all  minds  of  sensibility  feel,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  that  glorious  work  of  the  Creator,  grew  strongly  upon  him, 
and  he  was  heard  to  say,  that  six  weeks  were  inadequate  to  become 
acquainted  with  its  outlines.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he  was  still 
unable  to  tear  himself  away,  and  desired  to  build  there  a  tabernacle, 
that  he  might  indulge  both  in  his  love  of  solitary  musings  and  of 
nature's  sublimity.  He  applied  for  a  spot  upon  the  island  of  the  Three  Sisters, 
where  he  might  construct  a  cottage  after  his  own  model,  which  comprised,  among 
other  peculiarities,  isolation  by  means  of  a  draw-bridge.  Circumstances  forbidding 
a  compliance  with  his  request,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  an  old  house  upon  this 
island,  which  he  rendered  as  comfortable  as  the  state  of  the  case  would  admit.  Here 
he  continued  about  twenty  months,  until  the  intrusion  of  a  family  interrupted  his 
recluse  habits.  1  fe  then  quietly  withdrew,  and  reared  for  himself  a  less  commodious 
shelter,  near  Prospect  Point.  His  simple  and  favorite  fare  of  bread  and  milk  was 
readily  purchased,  and  whenever  he  required  other  food,  he  preferred  to  prepare  it 
with  his  own  hands. 

When  bleak  winter  came,  a  cheerful  fire  of  wood  blazed  upon  his  hearth,  and 
by  his  evening  lamp  he  beguiled  the  hours  with  the  perusal  of  books  in  various 
languages,  ami  with  sweet  music.  It  was  almost  surprising  to  hear,  in  such  depth 
of  solitude,  the  lonsf  drawn,  thrilling:  tones  of  the  viol,  or  the  softest  melodies  of  the 
flute, "gushing  forth  from  that  low  browed  hut,  or  the  guitar,  breathing  out  so 
lightly,  amid  the  rush  and  thunder  of  the  never-slumbering  tide. 

Yet,  though  the;  world  of  letters  was  familiar  to  his  mind,  and  the  living 
world  to  his  observation,  for  he  had  travelled  widely,  both  in  his  native  Europe  and 
the   East,   he  sought   not   association  with   mankind,   to   unfold   or    to  increase    his 


stories  of  knowledge.  Those  who  had  heard  him  converse,  spoke  with  surprise  and 
admiration  of  his  colloquial  powers,  his  command  of  language,  and  the  spirit  of 
eloquence  that  flowed  from  his  lips.  But  he  seldom  and  sparingly  admitted  this 
intercourse,  studiously  avoiding  society,  though  there  seemed  in  his  nature  nothing 
of  moroseness  or  misanthropy.  On  the  contrary,  he  showed  kindness  even  to  the 
humblest  animal.  Birds' instinctively  learned  it,  and  freely  entered  his  dwelling  to 
receive  from  his  hands  crumbs  or  seeds. 

But  the  absorbing  delight  of  his  existence,  was  communion  with  the  mighty 
Niagara.  Here,  at  every  hour  of  the  day  or  night,  he  might  be  seen  a  fervent 
worshipper.  At  gray  dawn  he  went  to  visit  it  in  its  fleecy  veil;  at  high  noon,  he 
banqueted  on  the  full  splendor  of  its  glory;  beneath  the  soft  tinting  of  the  lunar 
bow  he  lingered,  looking  for  the  angel's  wing  whose  pencil  had  painted  it;  at 
solemn  midnight,  he  knelt,  soul-subdued,  as  on  the  foot-stool  of  Jehovah.  Neither 
storms,  nor  the  piercing  cold  of  winter,  prevented  his  visits  to  this  great  temple  of 
his  adoration. 

When  the  frozen  mists,  gathering  upon  the  lofty  trees,  seemed  to  have 
transmuted  them  to  columns  of  alabaster;  when  every  branch  and  shrub,  and  spray, 
glittering  with  transparent  ice,  waved  in  the  sunbeam  its  coronet  of  diamonds,  he 
gazed,  unconscious  of  the  keen  atmosphere,  charmed  and  chained  by  the  rainbow- 
cinctured  Cataract.  His  feet  had  worn  a  beaten  path  from  his  cottage  thither. 
There  was,  at  that  time  an  extension  of  the  Terrapin  Bridge  by  a  single  shaft  of 
timber,  carried  out  ten  feet  over  the  fathomless  abyss,  where  it  hung  tremulously, 
guarded  only  by  a  rude  parapet. 

To  this  point  he  often  passed  and  repassed,  amid  the  darkness  of  the  night. 
He  even  took  pleasure  in  grasping  it  with  his  hands,  and  thus  suspending  himself 
over  the  awful  gulf;  so  much  had  his  morbid  enthusiasm  learned  to  feel,  and  even 
to  revel,  amid  the  terribly  sublime. 

Among  his  favorite,  daily  gratifications  was  that  of  bathing.  The  few  who 
interested  themselves  in  his  welfare,  supposed  that  he  pursued  it  to  excess,  and 
protracted  it  after  the  severity  of  the  weather  rendered  it  hazardous  to  health. 

He  scooped  out,  and  arranged  for  himself,  a  secluded  and  romantic  bath, 
between  Moss  and  Iris  islands.  Afterwards,  he  formed  the  habit  of  bathing  below 
the  principal  Fall.  One  bright,  but  rather  chilly  day,  in  the  month  of  June,  1831,  a 
man  employed  about  the  Ferry,  saw  him  go  into  the  water,  and  a  long  time  after, 
observed  his  clothes  to  be  still  lying  upon  the  bank. 

Inquiry  was  made.  The  anxiety  was  but  too  well  founded.  The  poor  hermit 
had  indeed  taken  his  last  bath.  It  was  supposed  that  cramp  might  have  been 
induced  by  the  unwonted  chill  of  the  atmosphere  or  water.  Still  the  body  was  not 
found,  the  depth  and  force  of  the  current  just  below  being  exceedingly  great.  In 
the  course    of  their    search,  they  passed  onward    to  the  Whirlpool.      There,  amid 

56 


those  boiling  eddies,  was  the  pallid  corpse,  making  fearful  and  rapid  gyrations  upon 
the  face  of  the  black  waters.  At  some  point  of  suction,  it  suddenly  plunged  and 
disappeared.  Again  emerging,  it  was  fearful  to  see  it  leap  half  its  length  above  the 
flood,  and  with  a  face  so  deadly  pale,  play  among  the  tossing  billows,  then  float 
motionless,  as  if  exhausted,  and  anon  returning  to  the  encounter,  spring,  struggle, 
and  contend  like  a  maniac  battling  with  mortal  foes. 

It  was  strangely  painful  to  think  that  he  was  not  permitted  to  find  a  grave 
even  beneath  the  waters  he  had  loved;  that  all  the  gentleness  and  charity  of  his 
nature,  should  be  changed  by  death  to  the  fury  of  a  madman;  and  that  the  king  of 
terrors  who  brings  repose  to'the  despot,  and  the  man  of  blood,  should  teach  warfare 


to  him  who  had  ever  worn  the  meekness  of  the  lamb.  For  days  and  nights  this 
terrible  purgatory  was  prolonged.  It  was  on  the  twenty-first  of  June,  that,  after 
man)-  efforts,  they  were  enabled  to  bear  the  wear)-  dead  back  to  his  desolate  cottage. 
There  they  found  his  faithful  dog  guarding  the  door.  Heavily  the  long 
period  had  worn  away,  while  he  watched  for  his  only  friend  and  wondered^vhy  he 
delayed  his  coming.  He  scrutinized  the  approaching  group  suspiciously,  and  would 
not  willingly  have  given  them  admittance,  save  that  a  low,  stifled  wail  at  length 
announced  his  intuitive  knowledge  of  the  master,  whom  the  work  of  death  had 
effectually  disguised  from  the  eyes  of  men. 


D8 


They  laid  him  on  his  bed,  the  thick,  dripping-  masses  of  his  beautiful  hair  cling- 
ing to  and  veiling  the  features  so  late  expressive  and  comely.  On  the  pillow  was 
his  pet  kitten;  to  her,  also,  the  watch  for  the  master  had  been  long  and  wearisome. 

In  his  chair  lay  the  guitar,  whose  melody  was  probably  the  last  that  his  ear  had 
heard  on  earth.  There  were  also  his  flute  and  violin,  his  portfolio  and  books, 
scattered  and  open,  as  if  recently  used.  On  the  spread  table  was  the  untasted  meal 
for  noon,  which  lit!  had  prepared  against  his  return  from  that  hath  which  had  proved 
so  fatal.  It  was  a  touching  sjght;  the  dead  hermit  mourned  by  his  humble 
retainers,  the  poor  animals  who  loved  him,  and  ready  to  be  laid  by  stranger-hands 
in  a  foreign  grave. 

So  fell  this  singular  and  accomplished  being,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight. 
Learned  in  the  languages,  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  improved  by  extensive  travel, 
gifted  with  personal  beauty,  and  a  feeling  heart,  the  motives  for  this  estrangement 
from  his  kind  are  still  enveloped  in  mystery.  It  was,  however,  known  that  he  was 
a  native  of  England,  where  his  father  was  a  clergyman;  that  he  received  from 
thence  ample  remittances  for  his  comfort;  and  that  his  name  was  Francis  Abbot. 
These  facts  had  been  previously  ascertained,  but  no  written  papers  were  found  in 
his  cell,  to  throw  additional  light  upon  the  obscurity  in  which  he  had  so  effectually 
wrapped  the  history  of  his  pilgrimage. 

That  he  was  neither  an  ascetic  nor  a  misanthrope,  has  been  sufficiently  proved. 
Why  he  should  choose  to  withdraw  from  society,  which  he  was  so  well  fitted  to 
benefit  and  adorn,  must  ever  remain  unexplained.  That  no  crime  had  driven  him 
thence,  his  blameless  and  pious  life  bore  witness  to  all  who  knew  him. 

It  might  seem  that  no  plan  of  seclusion  had  been  deliberately  formed,  until 
enthusiastic  admiration  of  the  unparalleled  scenery  among  which  he  was  cast, 
induced  and  for  two  years  had  given  it  permanence.  And  if  any  one  could  be 
justified  for  withdrawing  from  life's  active  duties,  to  dwell  awhile  with  solitude  and 
contemplation,  would  it  not  be  in  a  spot  like  this,  where  Nature  ever  speaks  audibly 
of  her  majestic  and  glorious  Author? 

We  visited,  in  the  summer  ol  1S44,  the  deserted  abode  of  the  hermit.  It  was 
partially  ruinous,  but  we  traced  out  its  different  compartments,  and  the  hearth-stone 
where  his  winter  evenings  passed  amid  books  and  music,  his  faithful  dog  at  his  feet, 
and  on  his  knee  his  playful,  happy  kitten 

At  our  entrance,  a  pair  of  nesting  birds  tlew  forth  affrighted.  Methought  the)' 
were  fitting  representatives  of  that  gentle  spirit,  which  would  not  have  disturbed 
their  tenantry,  or  harmed  the  trusting  sparrow. 

We  think  with  tenderness  of  thee,  erring  and  lonely  brother.      For  at  the  last 
day,  when  the  secrets  of  all  are  unveiled,  it  will  be  found  that  there  are  sadder  mis 
takes  to  deplore  than  thine; — time  wasted  idly,  but  not  innocently — and  talents  per- 
verted without  the  palliation  of  a  virtuous  life,  the  love  of  Nature,  or  the  fear  of  God. 

59 


THE    I^lMBIiEI^ 


CHiS,    JDS.    LJ1TRDBE, 


recollect  my  juvenile  weakness,  that 
of  being  a  notorious  cascade- 
hunter.  So  you  may  well  ask 
what  impression  was  made  upon 
me  by  Niagara.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  cent- 
ury, Niagara,  difficult  of  access, 
and  rarely  visited,  was  still  the 
cataract  of  the  wilderness.  The 
red  Indian  still  lingered  in  its  vi- 
cinity, adored  the  Great  Spirit 
and  "  Master  of  Life"  as  he  list- 
ened to  the  "Thunder  of  the 
waters."  The  human  habitations 
within  sound  of  its  fall  were  rare 
and  far  apart.  Its  few  visitors 
came,  gazed,  and  departed  in 
silence  and  awe,  having  for  their 
guide  the  child  of  the  forest  or 
the  hardy  backwoodsman.  No 
staring,  painted  hotel  rose  over 
the  woods  and  obtruded  its  pale 
face  over  the  edge  of  the  boiling 
river.  The  journey  to  it  from 
the  east  was  one  of  adventure 
and  peril.  The  scarcely  attainable  shore  of  Goat  Island,  lying  between  the  two 
great  divisions  of  the  cataract,  had  only  been  trodden  by  a  few  hardy  adventurers, 
depending  upon  stout  hearts  and  steady  hands  for  escape  from  the  imminent  perils 
of  the  passage.  How  is  it  now?  The  forest  has  everywhere  yielded  to  the  axe. 
Hotels  with  their  snug  shrubberies,  out-houses,  gardens,  and  paltry  establishments 
stare  you  in  the  face:  museums,  mills,  staircases,  tolls,  and  grog-shops,  greet  the 
eye  of  the  traveler.  Bridges  are  thrown  from  island  to  island;  and  Goat  Island  is 
reached  without  adventure. 

60 


But  do  not  imagine  that  we  grew  peevish  at  the  sight  of  the  blots  upon  the 
landscape,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  departed  in  wrath  and  disgust.  We  soon 
found  that  there  was  that  in  and  about  Niagara  which  was  not  to  be  marred  by  busy 
man  and  all  his  petty  schemes  for  convenience  and  self-aggrandisement;  and  I  may 
truly  say,  with  regard  to  both  our  first  and  second  visit,  and  stay  within  its  precincts, 
that  we  were  under  the  influence  of  its  spell.  While  within  the  sound  of  its  waters, 
I  will  not  say  you  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  cataract,  but  you  find  it  difficult  to 
think,  speak,  or  dream  of  any  thing  else.  Its  vibrations  pervade,  not  only  the  air 
you  breathe,  the  bank  on  which  you  sit,  the  paper  on  which  you  write,  but  thrill 
through  your  whole  frame,  and  act  upon  your  nervous  system  in  a  remarkable,  and 


it  may  almost  be 
said  an  unpleas- 
ant manner.  You 
may  have  heard 
of  people  coming 
back  from  the 
contemplation  of 
these  Falls,  with 
dissatisfied  feel- 
ings. To  me  this 
is  perfectly  in- 
comprehensible, 
and  I  do  not  know 
whether  to  envy 
the  splendid  fan- 
cies and  expecta- 
tions of  that  class 
of  travellers,  to 
whom  the  sight  of 
Niagara  would 
bring  disappoint- 
ment,  or  to  feel 


STEPS   TO    RAPIDS   ON    OUTER    SISTER    ISLAND. 


justified  in  doubt- 
ing whether  they 
have  any  imagin- 
ation or  eye  for 
natural  scenery  at 
all.  How  blank 
the  world  must  be 
to  them  of  objects 
of  natural  inter- 
est. What  can 
they  expect  to 
see?  As  to  ex- 
pectations, ours 
were  excited  and 
warm,  and  I  shall 
never  forget  the 
real  anxiety  with 
which  we  looked 
out,  on  our  ascent 
from  Lewistown, 
for  the  first  ap- 
pearance  of  the 


object  of  our  visit.  The  broad,  fathomless  blue  river,  streaked  with  foam,  which, 
deeply  sunk  in  a  colossal  channel,  hurried  to  our  rencontre,  and  appeared  at  every 
fresh  glimpse  as  we  advanced,  swifter  and  in  greater  commotion,  was  to  us  a  guar- 
antee that  the  scene  of  its  descent  from  the  upper  country  could  be  no  common 
one.  When  about  three  miles  from  the  village  on  the  American  side,  you  gain 
your  first  view  of  the  Falls,  together  with  the  river,  both  above  and  below, — the 
island,  which  divides  them, —  and  greater  part  of  the  basin  at  their  feet.  I  will 
not  say  but  that  the   impression    of   that    first    glance  was    heightened  afterward 


Gl 


'   by  our  nearer  and  reiterated  survey 
of  every  portion  of  the  cataract  in 


« 


J(  detail ;    yet  we  all  agreed  that  we  could  even 

then  grasp  the  idea  of  its  magnitude,  and  that  all 

we  had  seen  elsewhere,  and  all  we  had  expected,  was 

If^r'v^YNii^  ^ar  surPassed  by  what  was  then  shown  to  us.    And  when, 

u)      ^         the  following  year,  two  of  us  turned  aside  by  common 

consent  to  pay  a  second  visit  to  Niagara,  having  in 

^~r     the  interval,  visited  many  of  the  great  falls  of  Lower  Canada, — 

v^x  cataracts  in  comparison  to  which  all  European  Falls  are  puerile; 
~^  - v  .... 

and  we  felt    our  curiosity  excited  to  divine  what   impression  a 

second  visit  would  make — far  from  being  disappointed,  we  felt  that 
before  Niagara,  in  spite  of  its  comparative  inferiority  of  elevation,  all 
shrunk  to  playthings.  It  is  not  the  mere  weight  and  volume  of  water 
that  should  give  this  far-famed  cataract  the  first  rank.  Every  sur- 
rounding object  seems  to  be  on  a  corresponding  scale  of  magnificence. 
The  wide  liquid  surface  of  the  river  above,  with  its  luxuriantly  verdure  clad 
swelling  banks,  contrasted  by  the  deep  blue  floods  below,  as,  boiling  up  from 
their  plunge,  into  the  unfathomed  basin  they  shock  against  one  another, 
and  race  down  toward  the  distant  lake;  the  extreme  beauty  of  the  forested  defile, 
with  its  precipices  and  slopes  ;  the  colorings  of  the  water,  which  in  the  upper 
part  of  its  descent,  is  that  of  the  emerald;  the  mystery  and  thick  gloom  which  hide 
the  foot  of  the  falls,  and  add  to  their  apparent  height,  and  the  floating  clouds  of 
vapor,  now  hurried  over  the  face  of  the  landscape,  as  though  urged  by  the  breath 
of  a  hurricane,  and  then  slowly  ascending  and  hovering  like  a  cloud  in  the  blue 
sky,  all  combine  to  form  a  scene  in  which  sublimity  and  picturesque  beauty  are 
enchantingly  blended.  There  is  here  none  of  that  stiffness  either  in  the  scenery,  or 
the  form  and  appearance  of  the  particular  object  of  interest,  which  engravings  too 
frequently  give  you  the  idea  of. 

Among  the  innumerable  points  of  view,  that  from  the  precipitous  shore  of  the 
river,  about  the  distance  I  have  alluded  to,  is  the  most  satisfactory,  if  not  the  most 
striking.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Falls,  the  points  of  interest  are  so  various, 
that  if  you  would  require  a  sketch,  I  should  not 'know  which  to  select.  The  grandest, 
doubtless,  is  from  the  Canadian  shore,  near  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall;  but  you  pass  from 
one  to  the  other,  and  everywhere  the  picture  presented  has  no  compeer  or  rival  in 


THE    SPRING   ON   GOAT    ISLAND. 


nature.  What  a  glorious  scene!  To  sit  upon  the  summit  of  the  impending  precipice 
of  Goat  Island,  and  see,  as  we  did  the  morning  after  our  first  arrival,  the  summer  mist 
begin  to  rise  and  disengage  itself  from  the  heavy  white  cloud  of  spray  which  rose 
from  the  depth  of  the  boiling  basin  of  the  Great  Fall  beneath  us.  By  degrees,  the 
curtain  was  partially  removed,  revealing  the  wall  of  slowly-descending  water  behind, 
now  dimly  descried, — as,  confounded  with  the  floating  sheets  of  foam  and  spray, 
which  the  wind  of  the  mighty  cataract  drove  backward  and  forward  over  it  like 

g  scending  col- 
umns. The  scene 
at  sun-set,  day 
after  day,  was  no 
way  less  majes- 
tic, when  the  sun, 
•'-.  glancing  from 
the    Canadian 
|  side  of  the  river, 
\  lit  up  the  preci- 
pices and  woods 
\  of  Goat  Island, 
and  the  broad 
surface  of  the 
American   Fall, 


innumerable 
clouds  of  thin 
floating-  gauze — 
it  mocked  us  with 
its  constantly  va- 
rying shape  and 
position;  and 
then  appearing 
unveiled  with  its 
sea-green  tints, 
brilliantly  illum- 
inated by  the 
passing  sun- 
beam, An  hour 
after  and  the  mist 
had  disappeared; 
the  Falls  were 
sparkling  in  the 
bright  sunshine; 
and  a  brilliant 
Iris  was  resting 
on  the  body  of 
vapor  which  the 
w  i  n  d  carried 
away  from  the 

face    of    the    de-  American  tous.  frok  the  river  night,    found    US 

strolling  about  the  shore  and  on  the  beautiful  Island,  which  is  an  earthly  paradise. 
I  remember  the  quiet  hours  spent  there,  when  fatigued  with  the  glare  of  the  hot 
bright  sun,  and  the  din  of  the  Falls,  with  peculiar  delight.  We  loved,  too,  to  escape 
from  all  those  signs  of  man's  presence,  and  busy-bodying  to  which  I  have  alluded, 
and,  burying  ourselves  in  the  fresh,  dark,  scarce-trodden  forest  still  covering  a  great 
part  of  its  area,  to  listen  to  the  deadened  roar  of  the  vast  cataracts  on  either  hand, 
swelling  on  the  air  distinct  from  every  other  sound. 

64 


which  then  glow- 
ed like  a  wall  of 
gold;  while  half 
the  Fall  of  the 
horse-shoe,  and 
the  deep  recess 
of  the  curve  were 
wrapped  in  deep 
shade.     Morn- 


ing, noon,  and 


There,  seated  in  comparative  solitude,  you  catch  a  peep,  across  a  long-  irregular 
vista  of  stems,  of  the  white  vapor  and  foam.  You  listen  to  the  sharp  cry  of  the 
blue  jay,  the  tap  of  the  red-headed  woodpecker,  and  the  playful  bark  of  the  squirrel; 
you  scan  the  smooth  white  boles  of  the  beech  or  birch,  checquered  with  broad 
patches  of  dark-green  moss,  the  stately  elm  and  oak,  the  broad-leaved  maple,  the 
silvery  white  and  exquisitely  chiselled  trunk  of  the  cedar,  or  the  decaying  trunk  of 
the  huge  chestnut,  garlanded  with  creepers;  but  you  will  hardly  ever  lose  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  locality.  The  spell  of  Niagara  is  still  upon  and  around  you.  You 
glance  again  and  again  at  the  white  veil  which  thickens  or  grows  dim  beyond  the 
leafy  forest: — the  rush  of  the  nearer  rapids,  the  din  of  falling  waters,  the  murmur  of 
the  echoes  answering  the  pulsations  of  the  descending  mass,  fill  your  ears,  and 
pervade  all  nature. 

Every  thing  around  and  about  you  appears  to  reply  to  the  Cataract,  and  to  par- 
take of  it,  none  more  so  than  the  evergreen  forest  which  is  bathed  from  year  to  year 
in  the  dew  of  the  river.  These  noble  trees,  as  they  tower  aloft  on  the  soil,  are  sus- 
tained from  youth  to  age  by  the  invigorating  spray  of  the  mighty  Falls.  Their 
leaves  are  steeped,  summer  after  summer,  in  the  heavy  dew,  their  trunks  echo  the 
falling  waters,  from  the  day  they  rise  from  the  sod,  to  that  in  which  they  are  shaken 
to  the  ground;  and  the  fibres  of  the  huge  moss-grown  trunk,  on  which  you  sit,  pros- 
trate and  mouldering  on  the  rich  mould  beneath,  bedded  in  the  fresh  grass  and 
leaves,  still  vibrate  to  the  sound  of  its  thunders,  and  crumble  gradually  to  dust.  But 
all  this  proves  nothing — as  a  matter-of-fact  man  might  say  —  but  that  I  am  Niagara 
mad.  Impelled  by  a  passion  for  this  variety  of  natural  scenery,  as  a  boy,  there  is 
something  in  the  motion  of  a  waterfall  which  always  makes  my  brain  spin  with 
pleasure.  We  have  much  before  us  and  many  sublime  scenes,  though  none  may  vie 
with  that,  before  which  we  have  been  lingering: — allons  ! 


X 


65 


jl   SYNCOPE   OF    THE    WflTEI^S. 


EEDHEE    W.    HQLLEY, 


N  THE  29th  of  March,  1848,  the  river  presented  a  remarkable  phenomenon. 
There  is  no  record  of  a  similar  one,  nor  has  it  been  observed  since.  The 
winter  had  been  intensely  cold,  and  the  ice  formed  on  Lake  Erie  was  very 
thick.  This  was  loosened  around  the  shores  by  the  warm  days  of  the 
early  spring.  During  the  day,  a  stiff  easterly  wind  moved  the  whole  field 
up  the  lake.  About  sundown,  the  wind  chopped  suddenly  round  and  blew 
a  gale  from  the  west.  This  brought  the  vast  tract  of  ice  down  again  with 
such  tremendous  force  that  it  filled  in  the  neck  of  the  lake  and  the  outlet, 
so  that  the  outflow  of  the  water  was  very  greatly  impeded.  Of  course,  it  only 
needed  a  short  space  of  time  for  the  Falls  to  drain  off  the  water  below  Black  Rock. 
The  consequence  was  that,  when  we  arose  in  the  morning  at  Niagara,  we  found  our 
river  was  nearly  half  gone.  The  American  channel  had  dwindled  to  a  respectable 
creek.  The  British  channel  looked  as  though  it  had  been  smitten  with  a  quick 
consumption,  and  was  fast  passing  away.  Far  up  from  the  head  of  Goat  Island 
and  out  into  the  Canadian  rapids  the  water  was  gone,  as  it  was  also  from  the  lower 
end  of  Goat  Island,  out  beyond  the  tower.  The  rocks  were  bare,  black,  and  forbid- 
ding. The  roar  of  Niagara  had  subsided  almost  to  a  moan.  The  scene  was 
desolate,  and  but  for  its  novelty  and  the  certainty  that  it  would  change  before 
many  hours,  would  have  been  gloomy  and  saddening.  Every  person  who  has 
visited  Niagara  will  remember  a  beautiful  jet  of  water  which  shoots  up  into  the  air 
about  forty  rods  south  of  the  outer  Sister  in  the  great  rapids,  called,  with  a  singular 
contradiction  of  terms,  the  "  Leaping  Rock."  The  writer  drove  a  horse  and  buggy 
from  near  the  head  of  Goat  Island  out  to  a  point  above  and  near  to  that  jet.  With 
a  log-cart  and  four  horses,  he  drew  from  the  outside  of  the  outer  island  a  stick  of 
pine  timber  hewed  twelve  inches  square  and  forty  feet  long.  From  the  top  of  the 
middle  island  was  drawn  a  still  larger  stick,  hewed  on  one  side  and  sixty  feet  long. 
There  are  few  places  on  the  globe jvhere  a  person  would  be  less  likely  to  go 
lumbering  than  in  the  rapids  of  Niagara,  just  above  the  brink  of  the  Horse-Shoe 
Fall.  All  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  were  abroad,  exploring  recesses  and 
cavities  that  had  never  before  been  exposed  to  mortal  eyes.  The  writer  went  some 
distance  up  the  shore  of  the  river.  Large  fields  of  the  muddy  bottom  were  laid 
bare.  The  shell-fish,  the  uni-valves,  and  the  bi-valves  were  in  despair.  The  clams, 
with  their  backs  up  and  their  open  mouths  down  in  the  mud,  were  making  their 
sinuous  courses  toward  the  shrunken  stream.  This  singular  syncope  of  the  waters 
lasted  all  the  day,  and  night  closed  over  the  strange  scene.  But  in  the  morning  our 
river  was  restored  in  all  its  strength  and  beauty  and  majesty. — Falls  of  Niagara, 

00 


THE   NIJIGJU^JI    ^IVEX^. 


/^NTIAGARA    RIVER,  which    takes    its    name    from    the    Falls,  is  thirty-six 

«^    V     miles  in  length,  reaching  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Ontario.     It  receives  the 

^      waters    of    all    the    upoer    lakes,    viz.,    Erie,    St.    Clair,    Huron,    Michigan, 

Superior,  and  others  smaller  than  these.      St.  Louis  River,  rising  1250  miles 

northwest  of  the  Falls,  and   1 50  miles  west  of  Lake  Superior,  is  the  most  remote 

Its  position  above  the  !B|j  ;  and  o«x:>  fret  deep.  Its 


level  of  the  sea  is  said  1 
to  be   1200  feet,  and 
in  its  course  towards  IM 
Lake  Ontario,    it  j 
makes  a    descent    of 
551  feet.     The  lakes 
and  streams  for  which 
it  is  an  outlet,  cover 
an  area  of   150,000 
square  miles.     The 
length  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior is  459   miles,  its 
width  100  miles,  and 
its    depth   900   feet. 
The  Straits  of  Saint 
Mary.  60  miles  long, 
and  45  feet  in  its  de- 
scent,   conveys   the  U 
waters  of  Lake  Supe-  m 
rior  and  Lake  Huron,  lj| 
which  receives  also 
the  waters  of  nearly 
forty  rivers.      Lake 
Michigan  is  300  miles 


outlet  is  the  Straits  of 

I  Mackinac,  conveying 

I  its  waters  into  Lake 

j  Huron,  a  distance  of 

40  miles.  Green  Bay, 

I  formerly  called  the 

I  Bay  of  Puans,   is  on 

jjjj  the  northwest  side  of 

f  Lake   Michigan,    100 

gj  miles   long   and    20 

■  miles   wide.      Lake 

uron    is    218    miles 

gin    length,  and    180 


1  miles  in  width,  and 
about  900  feet  deep. 
i  Its  waters    flow  into 
1  Lake  Erie,  through 
the  Lake  and    River 
St.  Clair,  and  the  De- 
troit River,  a  distance 
of  ninety  miles,  with 
a  descent  of  3 1    feet. 
_  Jiri  Lake  Erie  is  2QO  miles 
long,   63   miles  wide, 

and  120  feet  deep.  Its  level  above  the  sea  is  564  feet,  and  above  Lake  Ontario  334 
feet,  which,  of  course,  is  the  descent  it  makes  to  the  latter.  The  descent  from  Lake 
Erie,  where  the  Niagara  River  commences,  to  Schlosser,  is  12  feet;  at  the  rapids  it 
is  52  feet:  at  the  Cataract  164  feet;  from  this  point  to  Lewiston,  104  feet;  thence  to 
Lake  Ontario,  2  feet.  At  Lake  Erie,  where  the  Niagara  River  commences,  its  width 
is  about  two  miles;  and  its  depth  from  20  to  40  feet.     At  Black  Rock  it  is  narrowed 

68 


M^^F^ 


69 


to  a  mile,  and  is,  at  that  point,  deep  and  rapid,  moving-  at  the  rate  of  six  or  eight 
miles  an  hour.  For  three  miles  its  current  continues  swift,  and  thence  its  course  is 
slow,  and  its  surface  placid,  until  within  one  mile  from  the  Falls.  At  the  head  of 
Grand  Island,  five  miles  from  Lake  Erie,  it  expands,  and  branches  out  into  two 
streams,  running  on  either  side  of  this  island,  the  greatest  quantity  of  water  flowing 
on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  until  it  measures  eight  miles  across.  Below  this, 
opposite  Schlosser,  it  is  nearly  three  miles  in  width,  and  appears  smooth  like  the 
surface  of  a  quiet  lake.  Its  descent  from  this  point  to  the  Falls  is  90  feet.  At  the 
Falls  its  width  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile;  at  the  Ferry  it  is  56  rods  wide;  at  the 
Whirlpool  150  yards  wide.  Its  depth  varies,  in  different  places,  from  20  to  300  feet; 
and  just  below  the  Cataract  it  has  never  been  fathomed.  Niagara  River  embraces, 
in  its  course,  many  beautiful  islands,  the  lesser  ones  of  which  are  Bird  Island, 
situated  between  Buffalo  and  Lake  Erie;  Square  Island,  opposite  Black  Rock,  of 


JFrom.   iJui  Original  Jlfctps 


BOIUVDAKT  COMMISSIONER S. 


£     I       *      g  A  B  A' 


SOUTH  ^>- 


-^-   NORTH 


131  acres;  Strawberry  Island,  of  100  acres;  Beaver  Island,  of  30  acres;  Rattlesnake 
Island,  of  48  acres;  Tonawanda  Island,  of  69  acres;  Cayuga  Island,  of  100  acres, 
nearest  to  the  American  shore,  four  miles  above  the  Falls;  and  Buck-horn  Island, 
which  is  low  and  marshy,  containing  146  acres.  The  two  islands  of  principal  note 
in  this  river,  are  Grand  Island,  of  17,384  acres,  and  Navy  Island,  of  304  acres. 

The  banks  of  Niagara  River,  from  Fort  Erie  to  the  Canadian  shore,  at  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Erie,  to  Chippewa,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles,  are  from  four  to  ten 
feet  high.  From  Chippewa  to  the  Falls  themselves,  a  distance  of  two  and  a  half 
miles,  the  bank  is  from  ten  to  one  hundred  feet  high,  the  descent  of  the  river  being 
ninety-two  feet.  From  the  Falls  to  Lewiston,  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  the  bank 
varies  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet.  From  Lewiston  to  Lake 
Ontario  is  seven  miles,  and  in  this  distance  the  Northern  Terrace,  or  Mountain 
Ridge,  crosses  the  course  of  the  river,  when  the  banks  diminish  to  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet.     The  gorge  through  which  the  Niagara  River  flows,  after  leaving  the 


70 


precipice  that  forms  the  Cataract,  "presents  almost  perpendicular  walls,  with  a  talus 
at  the  bottom,  formed  by  the  falling  of  some  of  the  higher  strata,"  says  Hall,  in  the 
Geographical  Survey  of  the  State  of  New  York.  "The  outlet  of  the  chasm  is 
scarcely  wider  than  elsewhere  along  its  course.  In  some  places  the  channel  is  less 
than  two  hundred  yards  across,  and  again  is  extended  to  twice  that  width.  The 
breadth  of  the  chasm  at  the  top  is  nearly  twice  as  great  as  that  of  the  stream  below. 
The  declivity  of  the  bed  of  the  river,  from  the  Falls  to  Lewiston,  is  one  hundred 
and  four  feet,  or  nearly  fifteen  feet  in  the  mile. 

"  At  one  place,  about  a  mile  below  the   Falls,  where  the  channel  is  narrowest, 
the  stream  glides  with  comparative  stillness,  while  below  this,  where  the  channel  is 


c^'-i'.qr 


AND,    FROM    THE   DOOR   OF  THE    BURNING   SPRING   COTTAGE. 


broader,  it  is  driven  along  with  great  velocity.  Again,  below  the  whirlpool,  the 
surface  of  the  river  is  more  smooth,  and  the  current  more  gentle,  though  the  channel 
is  narrower  than  above.  In  the  course  of  this  gorge,  is  a  single  exception  to  the 
parallel  sides  and  nearly  vertical  cliffs;  this  is  upon  the  west  bank  of  the  river  at  the 
whirlpool.  The  width  of  the  gorge  at  Lewiston  is  1500  or  perhaps  2000  feet.  In 
the  Niagara  chasm  there  are  no  boulders,  pebbles  or  gravel.  The  river  occupies 
the  whole  width,  at  the  bottom,  except  a  talus  on  either  side,  formed  by  angular 
fragments  fallen  from  above. 

"From  all  that  appears  along  the  present  river  course,  there  was  probably  an 
ancient  shallow  valley  extending  in  the  direction  of  the  present  Niagara  River 
which  gave  the  first  direction  to  the  waters." 

71 


DICKENS'    NOTES. 


N  THE  morning  we  arrived  at  Buffalo,  and,  being  too  near 
the  Great  Falls  to  wait  patiently  anywhere  else,  we 
set  off  by  the  train  at  nine  o'clock  to  Niagara.  It  was 
a  miserable  day;  chilly  and  raw;  a  damp  mist  falling; 
and  the  trees  in  that  northern  region  quite  bare  and 
wintry.  Whenever  the  train  halted,  I  listened  for  the 
roar;  and  was  constantly  straining  my  eyes  in  the 
direction  where  I  knew  the  Falls  must  be,  from  seeing 
the  river  rolling  on  towards  them;  every  moment  ex- 
pecting to  behold  the  spray.  Within  a  few  minutes  of 
^K  our  stopping,  not  before,  I  saw  two  great  white  clouds 
77,'  rising  up  slowly  and  majestically  from  the  depths  of 
the  earth.  That  was  all.  At  length  we  alighted;  and 
^  then,  for  the  first  time,  I  heard  the  mighty  rush  of 
water,  and  felt  the  ground  tremble  underneath  my 
feet.  The  bank  is  very  steep,  and  was  slippery  with 
rain  and  half-melted  ice.  I  hardly  know  how  I  got 
down,  but  I  was  soon  at  the  bottom,  and  climbing, 
with  two  English  officers  who  were  crossing  and  had 
joined  me,  over  some  broken  rocks,  deafened  by  the 
noise,  half  blinded  by  the  spray,  and  wet  to  the  skin. 
We  were  at  the  foot  of  the  American  Fall.  I  could 
see  an  immense  torrent  of  water  tearing  headlong 
down   from   some   great  height,  but  had  no   idea  of 

o  o 

shape,  or  situation,  or  anything  but  vague  immensity.  When  we  were  seated  in 
the  little  ferry-boat,  and  were  crossing  the  swollen  river,  immediately  before  both 
cataracts,  I  began  to  feel  what  it  was:  but  I  was  in  a  manner  stunned,  and  unable  to 
comprehend  the  vastness  of  the  scene.  It  was  not  until  I  came  on  Table  Rock,  and 
looked — Great  Heaven,  on  what  a  fall  of  bright  green  water! — that  it  came  upon 
me  in  its  full  might  and  majesty. 

Then,  when  I  felt  how  near  to  my  Creator  I  was  standing,  the  first  effect,  and 
the  enduring  one — instant  and  lasting — of  the  tremendous  spectacle,  was  Peace. 
Peace  of  Mind,  tranquility,  calm  recollections  of  the  Dead,  great  thoughts  of  Eternal 
Rest  and  Happiness:  nothing  of  gloom  or  terror.  Niagara  was  at  once  stamped 
upon  my  heart,  an  Image  of  Beauty;  to  remain  there,  changeless  and  indelible,  until 
its  pulses  cease  to  beat,  for  ever. 

72 


BOCK   OF   AGES  AND  CAVE  OF  THE    WINDS. 

73 


Oh,  how  the  strife  and  trouble  of  daily  life  receded  from  my  view,  and  lessened 
in  the  distance,  during  the  ten  memorable  days  we  passed  on  that  Enchanted 
Ground!  What  voices  spoke  from  out  the  thundering  water;  what  faces,  faded 
from  the  earth,  looked  out  upon  me  from  its  gleaming  depths;  what  Heavenly 
promise  glistened  in  those  angel's  tears,  the  drops  of  many  hues,  that  showered 
around,  and  twined  themselves  about  the  grora-eous  arches  which  the  chaneine 
rainbows  made! 

I  never  stirred  in  all  that  time  from  the  Canadian  side,  whither  I  had  gone  at 
first.  I  never  crossed  the  river  again;  for  I  knew  there  were  people  on  the  other 
shore,  and  in  such  a  place  it  is  natural  to  shun  strange  company.  To  wander  to 
and  fro  all  day,  and  see  the  cataracts  from  all  points  of  view;  to  stand  upon  the 
edge  of  the  Great  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  marking  the  hurried  water  gathering  strength 
as  it  approached  the  verge,  yet  seeming,  too,  to  pause  before  it  shot  into  the  gulf 
below;  to  gaze  from  the  river's  level  up  at  the  torrent  as  it  came  streaming  down; 
to  climb  the  neighboring  heights  and  watch  it  through  the  trees,  and  see  the 
wreathing  water  in  the  rapids  hurrying  on  to  take  its  fearful  plunge;  to  linger  in 
the  shadow  of  the  solemn  rocks  three  miles  below;  watching  the  river  as,  stirred  by 
no  visible  cause,  it  heaved  and  eddied  and  awoke  the  echoes,  being  troubled  yet, 
far  down  beneath  the  surface,  by  its  giant  leap;  to  have  Niagara  before  me  lighted 
by  the  sun  and  by  the  moon,  red  in  the  day's  decline,  and  grey  as  evening  slowly 
fell  upon  it;  to  look  upon  it  every  day,  and  wake  up  in  the  night  and  hear  its  cease- 
less voice:  this  was  enough. 

I  think  in  every  quiet  season  now,  still  do  those  waters  roll  and  leap,  and  roar 
and  tumble,  all  day  long;  still  are  the  rainbows  spanning  them,  a  hundred  feet 
below.  Still,  when  the  sun  is  on  them,  do  they  shine  and  glow  like  molten  gold. 
Still,  when  the  day  is  gloomy,  do  they  fall  like  snow,  or  seem  to  crumble  away  like 
the  front  of  a  great  chalk  cliff,  or  roll  down  the  rock  like  dense  white  smoke. 
But    always    does    the    mighty    stream    appear    to    die    as    it    comes    down,    and 

always  from  its  unfathomable  grave  arises  that 
tremendous  ghost  of  spray  and 
mist,  which 


which 


is  never  laid 


If'  has  haunted  this  place  with   the 
same  dread  solemnity  since 

Darkness  brooded  on  the  deep, 

and    that    first    flood   before    the 

Deluge  —  Light  —  came  rushing 

5@§E^on  Creation  at  the 

word  of  God. 


BURNING   OF   THE   GJIROLJNE, 


Rn  Incident  of  the  Patriot  War  In  1B32. 


§F  ALL  the  places  in  the  world  for  a  naval  engagement  the  head  of  the  Upper 
Rapids  of  the  Niagara  River  would  seem  to  be  the  last  one  chosen.     The 
necessities  of  war,  however,  brought  about  a  miniature  battle  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  raging  waters.     Mr.  H.  T.  Allen  in  his  guide  to  Niagara  Falls  gives 
an  excellent  version  of  the  affair,  well  worthy  of  preservation  as  a  reliable  page  of 
modern  history. 

"In  1837,  a  rebellion  was  stirred  up  against  the  authorities  of  Canada,  by  some 
disaffected  '  Radicals,'  under  the  leadership  of  Wm.  Lyon  McKenzie  and  some 
others;  but,  Her  Majesty's  subjects  not  caring  to  side  with  the  'Rebels'  in  any 
great  number,  the  movement  was  speedily  put  down.  But  not  so  the  leaders. 
They — i.  e.  McKenzie,  Gen.  Sutherland,  and  five  and  six  and  twenty  others — at  the 
suggestion  of  Dr.  Chapin,  of  Buffalo,  unfurled  the  standard  of  rebellion  over  Navy 
Island,  designing  to  make  it  a  rendez-vous  for  the  restless  patriots  of  both  sides  of 
the  river,  until  sufficient  strength  should  be  gained  to  renew  the  attack.  Matters 
were  going  on  pleasantly — the  '  Patriots '  being  daily  edified  by  accessions  to  their 
strength,  though  greatly  demoralized  by  a  barrel  of  whiskey  that  found  its  way  to 
their  panting  hearts — when  the  difficulty  of  transporting  volunteers  and  supplies 
to  their  place  of  destination,  and  the  number  of  persons,  from  motives  of  business 
or  curiosity,  constantly  desirous  of  passing  and  repassing  from  the  main-land  to 
the  patriot  camp,  suggested  to  Mr.  Wells,  the  owner  of  a  small  steamboat  lying  at 
Buffalo,  called  the  Caroline,  the  idea  of  taking  out  the  necessary  papers,  and  run- 
ning his  vessel  as  a  ferry  boat  between  the  American  shore  and  the  island,  for  his 
own  pecuniary  emolument.  Accordingly,  Friday,  December  29,  the  Caroline  left 
Buffalo  for  Schlosser;  and  after  having  arrived,  having  made  several  trips  during 
the  day,  on  account  of  the  owner,  was  moored  to  the  wharf  at  Schlosser  Landing 
during  the  night. 

"  Colonel  Allan  McNab,  then  commanding  at  Chippewa  a  detachment  of  Her 
Majesty's  forces,  having  got  word  of  the  enterprise  of  the  Caroline,  resolved  upon 
a  deed  which  relieves  the  farcical  story  of  the  rebellion  by  a  dash  of  genuine  daring. 
It  is  asserted  that  Sir  Allan  was  informed  that  the  Caroline  was  in  the  interests  of 
the  Patriots,  chartered  for  their  use,  and  intended  to  act  offensively  against  the 
Canadian  authorities.  Whether  this  be  true  or  not,  he  planned  her  destruction  that 
very  night.  For  this  purpose  a  chosen  band  was  detailed  and  placed  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Drew,  a  retired-on-half-pay  officer,  of  the  royal  navy. 

"At  midnight,  the  captain  received  his  parting  orders  from  Sir  Allan,  and  the 
chivalrous  band  departed  in  eight  boats  for  the  scene  of  their  gallant  daring. 

75 


"  The  unconscious  Caroline,  meanwhile  lay  peacefully  at  her  moorings,  beneath 
the  stars  and  stripes  of  her  country's  banner.  As  the  tavern  at  Schlosser — the  only 
building  near  by — could  accommodate  but  a  limited  number  of  persons,  several  had 
sought  a  night's  lodging  within  the  sides  of  the  boat.  Dreaming  of  no  danger, 
they  had  retired  to  rest  unprovided  with  arms.  Thus  was  the  night  wearing  on, 
when  so  stealthily  came  the  hostile  band  that  the  faint  splash  of  muffled  „ 
oars  was  the  first  intimation  that  the  sentry  had  of  their  approach.  In  V^i 
reply  to  his  question,    'Who  goes  there?'   came,  first    'Friends!'  ^ 

then  a  heavy  plashing  in  the  water;  then,  the  leaping  of  armed  "Y  \  y*Mi 
men    to    the    deck.       The    bewildered    sleepers    start    from    their 
dreams  and  rush  for  the  shore.      'Cut  them  down!'  shrieks 
the  heroic  Drew,  as  he  thrills  with  the  memory  of  Aboukir 
and    Nile — '  Cut    them    down,  give   no  quarter.' 
More  or  less  injured,  they  escape  to  the  shore, 
with  life — all  but  one,   Durfee,  the  last  man   to 
leave,  who  is  brought  to  the   earth  by  a  pistol^ 
shot,  a  corpse!     A  few  minutes  and  the  Caro 
line  moves  from  the  shore  in  flames!   Down 
the  wild  current  she  speeds,  faster  and 
faster,  flinging  flames  in  her  track,  till 
striking  the  Canada  waters  she  spurns 
the  contact,  leaps  like  a  mad  fury,  and 
in  a  moment  more  is  as  dark  as  the  night 
around  her.      The  common  account  of  this 
affair  takes  it  for  granted  that  the  boat  went 
over  the  Canada  Falls  aflame.     You  will  read 
of  the  fated  vessel  lifting  her  fairy  form  to  the 
verge   of  the  precipice,  lighting  up  the  dark  ~~& 
amphitheatre  of  cataracts,  etc.,  to  the  end  of  endur- 
ance.    The  case  was  far  otherwise.     The  physician 
who  was  called  to  the  wounded  at  Schlosser  was  riding  up  the 
river's  bank  while  the  Caroline  was  descending  the  rapids.     The  \ 

gentleman  testifies  that  the  boat,  a  perfect  mass  of  illumination,  her  timbers 
all  aflame,  and  her  pipes  red  hot,   instantly  expired  when  she  struck  the  cascade 
below  the  head  of  Goat   Island."      This  was    a  crushing   blow    to  the    rebellion. 

Burnt  Ship  Bay  is  called  from  a  circumstance  connected  with  the  close  of  the 
French  war  of  1759.  The  garrison  at  Schlosser  had  already  made  a  gallant  resist- 
ance to  one  attack  of  the  English  and  were  preparing  for  another,  when,  disheartened 
by  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Quebec,  they  resolved  to  destroy  the  two  armed  vessels 
containing  their  military  stores.  Accordingly  they  brought  them  to  this  bay  and  set 
them  on  fire.     The  wrecks,  even  at  this  day,  are  sometimes  visible. 

76 


SHADOW  OP  THE    ROCK    AND    INCLINED    RAILWAY. 
77 


HOW   TO   SEE   THE   C^TJII^TCT. 


J.    B  .     HARRISDN  . 


IS  IT  worth  while  to  report  and  describe  truly  the  existing  conditions  at  Niagara 
Falls?  Thoughtful  people  find  this  a  place  of  wonderful  interest,  of  unpar- 
alleled attraction ;  yet  some  of  their  most  vivid  impressions  and  remembrances 
of  the  spot  are  eminently  unsatisfactory  and  disagreeable.  The  scenery  here  has 
an  absolutely  exhaustless  vitality.  Its  beauty  grows  upon  every  observer  who 
remains  long  enough  to  recognize  the  truth  that  the  spectacle  upon  which  he  gazes 
is  never  twice  the  same.  The  longer  one  studies  the  view  at  some  points  the  more 
unwilling  he  is  to  turn  away.  It  is  like  leaving  a  play  of  entrancing  interest. which 
has  not  yet  ended.  And  here  the  play  never  ends.  This  is  the  great  characteristic 
of  Niagara, — its  "infinite  variety."  There  are  several  places  in  the  rapids,  and 
especially  about  the  head  of  Goat  Island,  at  each  of  which  the  changing  show  of 
the  forms  and  motions  of  the  water, — flinging,  tossing,  flying,  exploding,  thrown 
high  into  the  air  in  great  revolving  bands  and  zones  of  crystal  drops,  shooting  aloft 
in  slender,  vertical  jets  of  feathery  spray,  swinging  in  wide-based,  massive  waves 
like  those  of  the  ocean,  or  gathered  into  billows  which  forever  break  and  fall  in 
curving  cascades,  and  yet  seem  not  to  fall  because  they  are  every  moment  renewed, 
— are  worth  a  journey  across  the  continent  to  see. 

FOUR  SEPARATE  WATERFALLS. 

There  is  a  great  variety  of  beauty  and  interest  even  in  the  Falls  themselves. 
As  Luna  Island  divides  the  American  Fall,  making  a  beautiful  separate  cascade  of 
the  narrow  stream  which  runs  next  to  Goat  Island,  so  the  small  island  called 
Terrapin  Rocks  (on  which  Terrapin  Tower  formerly  stood)  cuts  off  a  broader  por- 
tion of  the  stream  on  the  Canadian  side  of  Goat  Island,  and  makes  a  separate 
cataract  there.  Thus,  when  the  spectator  is  on  the  lower  end  of  Goat  Island,  there 
is  on  each  side  of  him,  first,  a  narrow  strait  or  portion  of  the  river,  just  large 
enough  to  form  a  fine  fall  by  itself,  then  a  small  island,  and  further  on  a  great 
cataract, — the  American  Fall  on  one  side  and  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall  on  the  other. 
These  divisions  of  the  stream,  with  four  separate  waterfalls,  different  in  volume 
and  environment,  and  so  each  possessing  a  marked  individuality  of  character,  yet 
so  related  to  each  other  that  they  may  be  regarded  as  forming  two  great  falls,  and 
also  as  constituting,  when  all  taken  together  the  one  great  cataract  of  Niagara, — 
render  the  scene  far  more  beautiful  and  interesting  than  one  great  fall  of  the 
undivided  river  could  possibly  be;  while  the  fact  that  the  height  of  the  fall  is 
everywhere  very  nearly  the  same  maintains  the  impression  of  a  complete  and  all- 
encompassing  unity  in  the  central  spectacle  of  the  place 

78 


There  is  great  variety,  again,  in  the  lines  of  the  curves  made  by  the  descending 
water  as  it  leaves  the  brink  of  the  fall,  as  an  artist  would  at  once  observe,  and  some 
of  these  curves  are  wonderfully  majestic  and  beautiful.  There  are  also  many  different 
curves  and  irregular  variations  in  the  line  of  the  top  or  brow  of  the  precipice  over 
which  the  water  rolls;  and  while  for  the  most  part  the  water  falls  sheer  and  free  from 
the  edge  of  the  cliff  till  it  strikes  the  stones  at  the  bottom,  there  are  in  some  places 
projecting  rocks  a  little  way  below  the  top  of  the  fall,  upon  which  the  descending 
stream  is  broken,  and  from  which  it  is  thrown  for  the  rest  of  the  way  down  into  new 
lines  of  movement  and  new  forms  of  beauty,  thus  adding  another  element  of  variety 
to  the  face  of  the  cataract.  In  some  places  the  stream  pours  with  a  steady  roar  into 
soundless  depths  of  water  at  the  foot  of  the   precipice;    in  others  it  dashes  with 


indescribable   vio- 
lence  upon    great 
masses   of    rock 
below,  from  which 
it  is  hurled  outward 
with  terrific   force 
in  hissing  streams  and  ?ri? 
spouts  of  spray.     The 
color  of  the  falling  water 
also  varies   everywhere. 
It  is  of  snowy,  dazzling 
whiteness  where  the  cur- 
rent is  shallow  above,  and 
the  descending  stream 
consequently  thin.    There 
is  a  little  green  mingled 
with  the  white  where  the 
volume  of  water  is  some- 


what greater,  and  in  the 
central  portions  of  the 
Great  or  Horse- Shoe  Fall 
the  deep,  intense,  solid 
green  of  the  water  has  a 
wonderful  vitality  and 
beauty.  The  magnificent 
framework  of  green  foli- 
age in  which  this  glorious 
spectacle  of  the  myriad 
forms  and  shows  of  mov- 
ing water — from  the  wild, 
gay  tossing  of  the  rapids 
to  the  solemn  fall  of  the 
cataract — is  set,  is  an  es- 
sential and  indispensable 
part  of  its  interest  and 
loveliness.  The  massive 
growth  of  trees  and  enveloping  vine  canopies  on  the  islands  and  river  shore  give  to 
the  scene  such  sylvan  aspects  of  grace,  of  softness  and  tenderness,  as  constitute 
some  of  the  chief  elements  in  its  unspeakable  charm,  and  some  of  the  most  forceful 
qualities  by  which  it  makes  its  eternal  appeal  to  the  heart  of  man.  Niagara  would 
not  be  what  it  is  now  if  it  rolled  through  a  bare,  brown  desert  of  limestone.  It  is 
not  the  water — the  river — alone  that  gives  to  the  place  its  unequalled  attraction,  its 
companionless  grandeur  and  loveliness.  If  the  trees  should  be  destroyed,  and  the 
shores  and  islands  denuded  of  their  green  and  living  beauty,  the  waters  might  rush 
and  leap  in  the  rapids,  and  roll  over  the  cliff  into  the  gulf  below,  as  now;  but  our 
sense  of  their  sparkling  gladness  and  gayety,  and  of  the  tenderness  and  passionate, 
eager  youthfulness  in  the  life  of  the  scene  would  be  gone.     The  sentiment  of  the 

80 


ON    GOAT    ISLAND. 


place,  and  the  thoughts  and  feelings  appealed  to  and  inspired  by  it,  would  be 
wholly  different  from  what  they  are  now;  and  they  would  necessarily  be  of  a  much 
lower  order  and  of  a  less  vital  quality.  The  value  of  this  scenery,  as  a  great 
possession  for  the  human  spirit,  a  source  of  uplifting,  vivifying  inspiration  for  those 
who  can  receive  and  enjoy  such  influences,  would  be  terribly,  fatally  impaired. 


WHY    SOME    PERSONS    ARE    DISAPPOINTED. 


Some  people  do  not  see  or  feel,  in  any  considerable  degree,  the  spiritual  charm 
of  which  I  speak.  They  would  not  think  of  coming  to  Niagara  for  reinforcement 
of  strength,  for  soothing,  healing  delights,  or  uplifting  peace,  or  for  help  of  any 
kind  for  the  deeper  needs  of  this  life.  They  come  hither  because  it  is  the  fashion; 
the  place  lies  in  the  round  of  travel,  and  they  sit  in  their  carriages  at  the  top  of  the 
stairway  leading  clown  to  Terrapin  Rocks  and  look  at  the  Great  Fall  for  a  minute 
and  a  half,  and  usually  remark,  as  they  pass  onward,  that  it  is  a  less  curious  and 
interesting  spectacle  than  they  had  expected  to  see,  and  that,  "on  the  whole," 
Niagara  disappoints  them.  Of  course  it  disappoints,  and  must  forever  disappoint, 
all  who  look  at  it  in  this  foolish,  hurried  way.  It  requires  time  for  the  faculties  of 
the  human  mind  to  be  put  in  motion,  and  to  respond  to  such  a  spectacle  as  this. 
Nay,  it  takes  time  even  for  the  senses  to  recognize  its  most  obvious  material  forms 
and  aspects,  and  such  persons  do  not  give  themselves  time  even  for  that.  "  May  be 
I  can't  appreciate  it  as  some  can,"  they  say.  No;  they  might,  in  a  minute  and  a 
half,  "appreciate"  the  burst  of  colored  fire  from  a  sky-rocket,  and  enjoy  its  value  to 
the  full;  and  they  do  not  understand  that  Niagara  is  a  spectacle  of  another  order. 
Unless  they  can  become  more  thoughtful,  the  scene  here  is  not  for  them. 

There  are  other  people  to  whom   Niagara  means  much.      It  offers  to  those  who 
are  weary  from  toil  of  any  kind,  of  hand  or  brain,  or  from  the  wearing,  exhausting 
ility  which  is  so  marked  in  modern  life, — it  offers  to  all  such  a 
il  change,  the  relief  and  benefit  of  new  scenes  and  new  mental 
activities  and  experiences  consequent  upon  observing  them 
becoming   interested  in  them.      Then,  for  those  who 
give  time  and  opportunity  for  the  scene  to  make  its 
appeal,  time  for  their  minds  to  respond  to  its  influences, 
there  is  something  deeper  and  higher  than  this.    There 
is  a  quickening  and  uplifting  of  the  higher  powers 
sSsLL       of  the  mind,  an  awakening  of  the  imagination; 
m7/4  «    the  soul  expands  and  aspires,  rising  to  the  level 
of  a  new   and    mighty  companionship.       Self- 


respect  becomes  more  vital.  Good  things 
seem  nearer  and  more  real,  and  the  nobleness 
and  worth  which  but  now  we  thought  beyond 

.si 


attainment  by  us  appear  part  of  our  inheritance  as  children  of  the  Highest.  I 
am  not  concerned  to  indicate  the  different  ways  in  which  the  sentiment  or  spirit 
of  the  scenery,  revealed  through  its  local  aspects  and  characteristics  of  infinitely 
varied  grandeur  and  beauty,  at  last  opens  communication  between  itself  and  what  is 
highest  and  most  vital  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  man.  It  is  little  worth  while  to  try 
very  hard  to  enjoy  or  appreciate  Niagara.  It  is  worth  while  to  try  to  see,  to  become 
well  acquainted  with  the  form  and  appearance  of  each  particular  scene  and  part 
of  the  landscape,  especially  along  the  rapids  and  river  shores,  and  about  the  falls  as 
seen  from  above;  and  then,  without  any  straining  after  high  feeling  or  raptures  of 
an}-  kind,  one  is  likely,  by  and  by,  to  have  a  sense  that  the  visit  to  Niagara  has 
been  a  deep  and  vital  experience,  and  that  the  place  has  become  a  real  resource  and 
possession  to  the  soul  forever.  It  is  easy  to  write  too  much  and  too  particularly  of 
all  this;  for  such  experiences  and  feelings,  like  all  the  higher  moods  and  activities 
of  the  soul,  have  something  shy  and  elusive  about  them,  and  it  is  not  often  best  to 
try  to  describe  them.  And  Niagara  itself,  in  its  sovereign  dignity  and  perfection, 
shames  and  silences  all  effort  at  description  or  eulogy.  It  is  to  be  seen,  felt — not 
talked  about.  And  as  the  weeks  and  months  pass  while  I  dwell  here,  by  the  very 
shrine  of  this  awful  beauty,  this  veiled  and  shrouded  grandeur,  I  become  more  and 
more  unwilling  to  write  about  it,  and  can  well  believe  that  if  one  remained  here  long, 
all  attempts  at  expression  regarding  it  would  appear  inappropriate  and  futile,  and 
that  silence  would  seem  the  only  true  tribute.  Perhaps  a  great  artist  might  feel  an 
unappeasable  longing  to  express  his  feelings  upon  canvas, — if,  indeed,  the  scene  is 
not  too  great  to  be  painted. 

MISUSED    OPPORTUNITIES. 

But  I  write  of  Niagara  for  two  reasons:  one  is,  that  so  many  people,  who 
ought  to  have  pleasure  and  delight  in  seeing  it,  now  come  here  and  go  away  without 
having  felt  delight  at  all, —  go  away,  in  fact,  with  feelings  of  disappointment  and 
vexation,  which  settle  at  last  into  a  decided  impression  and  permanent  remembrance 
of  Niagara  as  a  disagreeable  place.  In  a  great  many  cases  this  might  be  wholly  or 
in  a  very  great  measure  prevented;  and  it  is  for  this  reason,  and  not  at  all  for  the 
sake  of  any  attempt  at  description,  that  I  write  on  this  subject.  Most  of  the  people 
who  come  hither  are  possessed  of  but  moderate  means  to  sustain  the  expenses  of 
travel  for  pleasure  or  recreation,  and,  in  consequence,  they  can  remain  at  the  Falls 
but  a  short  time.  Now,  this  is  the  class  of  persons  who  most  need,  and  should  be 
able  in  greatest  degree  to  enjoy,  whatever  delights  or  benefits  the  place  can  minister 
to  its  visitors.  The  rich  are  better  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  here  as  every- 
where. Or,  it  they  do  not  know  how  to  enjoy  Niagara,  they  are  able  to  stay  long 
enough  to  learn.  But  thousands  come  hither  for  whom  a  day,  or  two  days,  is  all  the 
time  that  can  be  devoted  to  this  experience.  If  people  will  manage  wisely  it  is 
worth  while  to  travel  five  hundred  miles  to  see  Niagara,  even  if  they  can  remain 

82 


here  but  six  hours.  Most  people  who  are  here  but  for  a  day  or  two  throw  away  the 
larger  part  of  their  time,  so  limited  and  precious,  and  lose  the  real  opportunities  of 
the  visit  almost  wholly.  They  go  to  the  wrong  places,  and  do  the  wrong  things, 
and  so  waste  not  only  their  time  but  their  money.  If  one  can  be  here  but  six  or 
eight  hours,  he  should  not  think  of  using  a  hack  or  carriage.  He  should  walk. 
And  any  woman  who  can  walk  two  miles  at  home  can  see  Niagara,  can  see  all  there 
is  essential  or  important  here,  without  troubling  a  hack-driver  or  being  troubled  by 
him.  If  women  would  but  bring  with  them  a  pair  of  comfortable  shoes,  already 
somewhat  worn,  and  put  on  clothing  that  is  reasonably  light  and  loose,  for  the 
day,  they  could  easily  walk  wherever  it  is  necessary  for  short-time  visitors  to  go. 


PROSPECT  PARK. 

The  proper  place 
to  be  first  visited 
by  all  intelligent 
persons  is  the 
point  at  the  top 
of  the  American 
Fall,  on  the 
American  or  vil- 
lage side  of  the 
river  This  place 
is  included  in 
'Prospect  Park,' 
and  twenty-five 
cents  is  charged 
for  admission  at 
the  gate.  It  is 
much  to  be  re- 
gretted that 
there  is  now  no 
point  from  which 


i'E   OLD    FERHVMAN 


an  inhabitant  of 
our  country  can 
see  Niagara  Falls 
without  the  pay- 
ment of  a  fee. 
1  But  it  is  a  fact, 
and  visitors, 
must,  of  course, 
accept  existing 
conditions  and 
conform  to  them. 
The  evil  is  not 
one  for  which 
any  individual 
persons  are  to 
be  blamed.  It  is 
inseparable  from 
the  personal 
ownership  of  the 
valuable  land  ad- 
jacent  to  the 


river  at  this  point.  The  land  here  should  have  remained  permanently  the  property 
of  the  State  or  of  the  National  Government;  and  if  the  State  should  reacquire  the 
title  to  all  the  land  which  is  essential  to  the  scenery  of  Niagara,  it  would  be  a  most 
wise  and  benificent  measure,  and  would,  no  doubt,  tend  in  an  appreciable  degree  to 
national  advancement  in  civilization.  The  view  of  the  American  Fall  from  this 
point,  of  the  river  below,  and  of  Goat  Island  and  part  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall 
beyond  it,  is  naturally  the  first  in  an  ascending  series  which  includes  all  that  is  indis- 
pensable or  even  very  important  to  the  visitor.  There  are  comfortable  seats  in  the 
park,  the  place  is  pleasant  enough  in  the   daytime,  and  the  view  all  that  can  be 

84 


desired  from  one  place.  But  it  is  just  here  that  foolish  waste  of  time  and  money  on 
the  part  of  the  short-time  visitor  usually  begins.  There  is  a  railway  down  an 
inclined  plane  through  the  bank  to  the  river  below;  there  are  guides,  and  dressing- 
rooms,  and  water-proof  suits,  and  all  sorts  of  appropriate  arrangements  down  there 
for  creeping  around,  as  a  moist,  unpleasant  body,  in  a  blinding  storm  of  spray  about 
the  foot  of  the  fall,  and  in  "The  Shadow  of  the  Rock,"  where  there  is  nothing  of 
interest  to  be  seen,  and  where,  if  there  were  untellable  wonders,  nobody  could  see 
them.  Here  at  Niagara,  where  the  fees  are  heaviest,  the  "sights"  have  least  interest 
and  value. 

COAT    ISLAND. 

Everybody  appears  to  be  specially  interested  in  having  you  visit  these  places, 
where  it  is  all  feeling  and   no  seeing;   but  the  intelligent  short-time  visitor  will  say 


THE   HERMIT  S   CASCADE. 


no,  in  a  way  to  be  understood,  and,  leaving  the  Park  by  the  gate  nearest  the  river, 
will  walk  a  few  rods  up  the  stream  (by  the  very  edge  of  the  American  Rapids)  to 
Goat  Island  Bridge.  Here  the  fee  is  fifty  cents.  (If  you  are  to  remain  for  some 
days,  pay  one  dollar  here  and  seventy-five  cents  at  Prospect  Park,  and  come  and  go 
at  your  pleasure  without  further  charge.)  At  the  island  end  of  the  bridge  take  the 
steps  up  the  bank  to  the  right.  A  beautifully  shaded  walk  through  the  forest  brings 
you  to  Luna  Island,  at  the  top  and  very  edge  of  the  American  Fall  on  that  side. 
When  ready  to  proceed  keep  to  the  right  from  the  top  of  the  stairway,  by  a  pleasant 
path  along  the  edge  of  the  island,  pausing  at  various  points  for  characteristic  views, 
but  not  pausing  for  the  descent  to  the  "Cave  of  the  Winds,"  where  there  are  more 
dressing-rooms,  more  rubber  suits,  more  guides,  more  soaking,  dashing  mists,  etc., 

85 


requiring  time  and  money  in  proportion.  The  walk  to  the  Great  Fall  requires  but  a 
few  moments.  Look  at  it  first  from  the  head  of  the  stairway,  then  from  Terrapin 
Rocks  (where  Terrapin  Tower  formerly  stood). 

THE    RAPIDS. 

You  must  not  think  you  have  seen  Niagara  because  you  have  seen  the  Falls. 
The  Rapids  at  the  head  of  Goat  Island,  and  the  varied  and  wonderful  scenery  of 
the  "Three  Sisters"  at  that  point — all  this  is  indispensable.  You  have  not  seen 
Niagara  if  you  have  omitted  this  region.  It  is  but  a  few  minutes'  walk  again,  still 
keeping  to  the  right  along  the  edge  of  the  island  after  you  leave  the  Great  Fall. 
Leaving  the  "Three  Sisters,"  go  directly  across  the  carriage  road,  up  the  steps  and 
past  the  excursion  or  picnic  building  in  the  woods,  passing  to  the  right  of  it.     A 


broad  path  through  the  woods  leads  to  the  end  of  the  bridge  by  which  you  crossed 
to  Goat  Island.  Having  paid  your  half-dollar  to  go  to  the  island,  every  point  and 
prospect  upon  it  and  around  it  is  free  to  you.     There  are  no  further  fees. 

And  now,  if  one  has  followed  the  course  here  indicated,  spending,  of  course, 
as  much  time  as  he  can  afford  at  the  different  points  of  interest,  and  especially  in 
the  solitudes  of  the  islands,  he  may  rightly  feel  he  has  seen  Niagara,  or  that  he  has 
been  at  the  right  places  for  seeing  what  is  essential  to  the  charm  and  wonder  of  the 
place,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  see  and  feel  it  in  so  short  a  time.  There  have  been 
but  two  fees,  amounting  to  75  cts.  If  the  visitor  must  leave  now,  he  need  not  think 
with  much  regret  of  what  he  has  not  seen.  If  he  can  stay  longer,  the  next  thing  is 
to  cross  the  new  suspension  bridge  into  Canada.  The  fee  on  the  bridge  is  25  cts. 
each  way.     The  view  of  the  Falls  from  the  Canada  side  is  free. — AT.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

86 


CANADIAN    RAPIDS    ABOVE    INK   FALLS. 

87 


Jl   LlJIST   LlOOK. 


J.     S,     BUCKINGHAM, 


|N  THE  following  morning  we  went  to  take  a  last  look  of  the  Falls  before 
quitting  them  perhaps  forever,  and  we  all  agreed  that  our  sensations  at  the 
,i    last  view  were  as  powerful  as  at  the  first.     For  my  own  part,  I  do  not  think  it 
A     would  be  possible  for  any  number  of  repetitions  in  the  view  to  take  away,  or 
f>     even  abate,  the  first  impression  produced  by  the  richness,  splendor,  magnifi- 
cence, and  sublimity  of  this  great  and  glorious  object  of  nature.     To  the  many  who 
visit  this  spot  without  a  taste  for  the  grand  or  beautiful — and  to  the  extent  of  their 
numbers  the  register  at  the  Table  Rock  produces  painful  evidence — I  can  under- 
stand   its    becoming   tiresome;    but  to    those  whose    feelings    harmonize   with    the 
sublime  objects  that  are  here  combined  and  presented  to  the  wondering  view,  I  can- 
not comprehend  how  they  should  be  otherwise  than  enchanted  from  first  to  last,  and 
impressed  with  all  the  sensations  of  pleasure,  admiration,  triumph,  and  devotion  in 
succession. 

The  sunlights  were  more  varied  to-day  than  we  had  observed  them  to  be  on 
any  preceding  visit,  and  this  is  a  powerful  cause  of  variety  in  the  appearance  of  the 
Falls.  There  were  passing  clouds  that  occasionally  obscured  the  sun,  when  deep 
shadows  overhung  the  waters.  Suddenly  the  bright  orb  would  burst  forth  from  its 
hiding-place,  and  in  an  instant  the  whole  mass  was  lighted  up  with  luminous  and 
transparent  brilliancy.  Occasional  showers  of  rain  also  fell,  and  the  rainbows  of 
the  spray  seemed  to  look  more  than  usually  vivid  and  glowing.  The  smooth  deep 
current  between  the  turbulent  rapids  of  the  upper  strait  and  the  immediate  edge  of 
the  cataract  flowed  on  like  a  stream  of  molten  glass,  so  clear,  so  lucid,  and  yet  so 
unwrinkled  in  its  surface,  that  when  it  curved  over  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  the  mass 
poured  downward  was  like  a  liquid  emerald  of  the  brightest  and  most  transparent 
green.  As  this  was  varied  with  the  sparkling  lights  of  the  broken  waters,  it  resem- 
bled those  beautiful  glimpses  which  the  mariner  sometimes  catches  of  the  mountain 
wave  at  sea,  when  the  lustre  of  the  setting  sun  is  seen  through  its  upper  edge  of 
the  brightest  green,  and  a  curling  wave  of  the  wdiitest  foam  crowns  its  towering  and 
majestic  crest.  The  whole  seemed  to  realize  the  splendid  imagery  of  Milton,  in  his 
exquisite  description  of  the 

"Throne  of  royal  state,  which  far 
Outshone  the  wealth  of  Ormus  or  of  Ind, 
Or  where  the  gorgeous  East,  with  richest  hand, 
Showers  on  her  kings  barbaric  pearls  and  gold." 

I  have  seen  no  other  object  in  nature,  in  all  my  various  wanderings,  equal  this 
in  magnificence  and  sublimity.  The  impression  of  its  beauty  and  grandeur  is  so 
deeply  imprinted  on  my  heart  and  mind,  that  I  am  sure  I  shall  carry  it  with  me  to 
the  grave,  if  reason  and  memory  are  spared  to' me  till  then. 

88 


THE    I^PIDS   pND   GOI^GE 


MT 


EEDREE     HDUEHTDN, 


THE    UPPEP    PHPIDS. 


[TILL,  with  the  wonder  of  boyhood,  I  follow  the  race  of  the  Rapids, 
Sirens  that  dance,  and  allure  to  destruction, —  now  lurking  in  shadows, 
Skirting  the  level  stillness  of  pools  and  the  treacherous  shallows, 
Smiling  and  dimple-mouthed,  coquetting, —  now  modest,  now  forward; 

Tenderly  chanting,  and  such  the  thrall  of  the  weird  incantation, 
Thirst  it  awakes  in  each  listener's  soul,  a  feverish  longing, 
Thoughts  all -absorbent,  a  torment  that  stings  ami  ever  increases, 
Burning  ambition  to  push  bare-breast  to  thy  perilous  bosom. 

Thus,  in  some  midnight  obscure,  bent  down  by  the  storm  of  temptation 
(So  hath  the  wind,  in  the  beechen  wood,  confided  the  story), 
Pine-trees,  thrusting  their  way  and  trampling  down  one  another, 
Curious,  lean  and  listen,  replying  hi  sobs  and  in  whispers; 

Till  of  the  secret  possessed,  which  brings  sure  blight  to  the  hearer, 
(So  hath  the  wind,  in  the  beechen  wood,  confided  the  story), 
Paltering,  they  stagger  brinkward, —  clutch  at  the  roots  of  the  grasses, 
Cry,— a  pitiful  cry  of  remorse, —  and  plunge  down  in  the  darkness. 

Art  thou  all-merciless  then, —  a  fiend,  ever  fierce  for  new  victims? 
Was  then  the  red-man  right  (as  yet  it  liveth  in  legend), 
That,  ere  each  twelvemonth  circles,  still  to  thy  shrine  is  allotted 
Blood  of  one  human  heart,  as  sacrifice  due  and  demanded? 

Butterflies  have  I  followed,  that  leaving  the  red-top  and  clover. 
Thinking  a  wind-harp  thy  voice,  thy  froth  the   fresh  whiteness  of  daisies, 
Ventured  too  close,  grew  giddy,  and  catching  cold  drops  on  their  pinions, 
Balanced  —  but  vainly, —  and  falling,  their  scarlet  was  blotted  forever. 


— ^^^>^- 


n 


THE    COI^GE. 

EATH  the  abyss  lies  the  Valley,   a  valley  of  darkness.— a  hades. 
Where  the  spent  stream,  as  it  strives,  seeks  only  an  end  to  its  anguish; 
Who  shall  its  fastnesses  fathom,  or  tell  what  wrecks  they  envelop? 
Here  'ncath  the  tides  of  time,  life's  remnants  await  resurrection. 

Deep  is  the  way,  and  weary  tin-  way,  while  lofty  above  it 
Frowns,  upon  either  hand,  a  cliff  sheer-shouldered  or  beetling, 
Holding  in  durance  forever  the  course  of  the  will  broken  exile, 
Blighting  all  hope  of  return,  should  it  pant  for  lie  dowering  pastures. 

But  from  the  brinks  lean  down  a  few  slender  birches  and   cedars, 

Dazed  by  the  depth  and  the  gloom  of  the  channels  resounding  beneath  them; 

Here  campanulas,  too,  which  lurk  wherever  is  clanger, 

Stoop  with  a  smile  of  hope,  reflecting  the  blue  of  tin'  heaven,. 

Fleeter  still  flies  the  flood,  up-heaping  its  scum  at  the  centre, 
Dragging  the  (ides  from  the  shores  to  leave  (hem  a  hand-breadth  the  lower; 
While,  like  a  serpent  of  yellow,  the  spume  crooks  down  to  the  Whirlpool, 
Trails  with  a  zigzagging  motion  down  to  the  hideous  Whirlpool. 

88 


90 


THK   MPII)   OF   THE   MIST, 


HEr  Hazardous  Trip  Through  thE  Whirlpool  Rapids, 


NE  OF  THE  most  dar- 
ing feats  ever  accom- 
plished successfully  by 
man  was  that  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Whirl- 
pool  Rapids,  thence 
through  the  dreadful 
whirlpool  to  Lake  On- 
tario, with  the  little 
steamer  "Maid  of  the 
Mist."  Mr.  Geo.  W. 
Holk'\-,  himself  an  old 
resident  of  Niagara 
Falls,  in  his  late  work 
on  Niagara  Falls,  gives 
a  very  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  little  boat, 
her  pilot  and  her  trip, 
rendered  more  valu- 
able through  the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  author  with  the  actors  in  the  thril- 
ling undertaking.  He  says:  "  In  the  year  1846,  a  small  steamer  was  built  in  the 
eddy  just  above  the  Railway  Suspension  Bridge,  to  run  up  to  the  Falls.  She  was 
very  appropriately  named  'The  Maid  of  the  Mist.'  Her  engine  was  rather  weak, 
but  she  safely  accomplished  the  trip.  As,  however,  she  took  passengers  aboard 
only  from  the  Canadian  side,  she  could  pay  little  more  than  expenses.  In  1854  a 
larger,  better  boat,  with  a  more  powerful  engine,  the  new  '  Maid  of  the  Mist,'  was 
put  on  the  route,  and  as  she  took  passengers  from  both  sides  of  the  river,  many 
thousands  of  persons  made  the  exciting  and  impressive  voyage  up  to  the  Falls 
The  admiration  which  the  visitor  felt  as  he  passed  quietly  along  near  the  American 
Fall  was  changed  into  awe  when  he  began  to  feel  the  might)'  pulse  of  the  great 
dec])  just  below  the  tower,  then  swung  round  into  the  white  foam  directly  in  front 
of  the  Horse-Shoe,  and  saw  the  sky  of  waters  falling  toward  him.  And  he  seemed 
to  be  lifted  on  wings  as  he  sailed  swiftly  down  on  the  rushing  stream  through  a 
baptism  of  spray.  To  many  persons  there  was  a  fascination  about  it  that  induced 
them  to   make  the  trip  every  time  they  had  an   opportunity  to  do  so.      Owing  to 

91 


some  change  in  her  appointments  which  confined  her  to  the  Canadian  shore  for  the 
reception  of  passengers,  she  became  unprofitable.  Her  owner,  having  decided  to 
leave  the  neighborhood,  wished  to  sell  her  as  she  lay  at  her  dock.  This  he  could 
not  do,  but  he  received  an  offer  of  something-  more  than  half  of  her  cost,  if  he 
would  deliver  her  at  Niagara,  opposite  the  fort.  This  he  decided  to  do,  after  con- 
sultation with  Robinson,  who  had  acted  as  her  captain  and  pilot  on  her  trips  below 
the  Falls.  Mr.  Robinson  agreed  to  act  as  pilot  for  the  fearful  voyage,  and  the  engi- 
neer, Mr.  Jones,  consented  to  go  with  him.  A  courageous  machinist,  Mr.  Mclntyre, 
volunteered  to  share  the  risk  with  them.  They  put  her  in  complete  trim,  removing 
from  deck  and  hold  all  superfluous  articles.  Notice  was  given  of  the  time  for 
starting,  and  a  large  number  of  people  assembled  to  see  the  fearful  plunge,  no  one 
expecting  to  see  the  crew  again  alive  after  they  should  leave  the  dock,  just  above 
the  Railway  Suspension  Bridge.  Twenty  rods  below,  the  water  plunges  sharply 
down  into  the  head  of  the  crooked,  tumultuous  rapid,  reaching  from  the  bridge  to 
the  Whirlpool.  At  the  Whirlpool,  the  danger  of  being  drawn  under  was  most  to 
be  apprehended;  in  the  rapids,  of  being  turned  over  or  knocked  to  pieces.  From 
the  Whirlpool  to  Lewiston  is  one  wild,  turbulent  rush  and  whirl  of  water,  without  a 
square  foot  of  smooth  surface  in  the  whole  distance. 

"  About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  June  15,  1 861,  the  engineer  took  his 
place  in  the  hold,  and,  knowing  that  their  flitting  would  be  short  at  the  best,  and 
might  be  only  the  preface  to  swift  destruction,  set  his  steam  valve  at  the  proper 
gauge,  and  awaited — not  without  anxiety — the  tinkling  signal  that  should  start  them 
on  their  flying  voyage.  Mclntyre  joined  Robinson  at  the  wheel  on  the  upper  deck. 
Self-possessed,  and  with  the  calmness  which  results  from  undoubting  courage  and 
confidence,  yet  with  the  humility  which  recognizes  all  possibilities,  with  downcast 
eyes  and  firm  hands,  Robinson  took  his  place  at  the  wheel  and  pulled  the  starting 
bell.  With  a  shriek  from  her  whistle  and  a  white  puff  from  her  escape  pipe,  the 
boat  ran  up  the  eddy  a  short  distance,  then  swung  round  to  the  right,  cleared  the 
smooth  water,  and  shot  like  an  arrow  into  the  rapid  under  the  bridge.  Robinson 
intended  to  take  the  inside  curve  of  the  rapid,  but  a  fierce  cross-current  carried  him 
to  the  outer-curve,  and  when  a  third  of  the  way  down  it  a  jet  of  water  struck  against 
her  rudder,  a  column  dashed  up  under  her  starboard  side,  heeled  her  over,  carried 
away  her  smoke-stack,  started  her  overhang  on  that  side,  threw7  Robinson  flat  on 
his  back,  and  thrust  Mclntyre  against  her  starboard  wheel-house  with  such  force  as 
to  break  it  through.  Every  eye  was  fixed,  every  tongue  was  silent,  and  every 
looker-on  breathed  freer  as  she  emerged  from  the  fearful  baptism,  shook  her 
wounded  sides,  slid  into  the  Whirlpool,  and  for  a  moment  rode  again  on  an  even 
keel.  Robinson  rose  at  once,  seized  the  helm,  and  set  her  to  the  right  of  the  large 
pot  in  the  pool,  then  turned  her  directly  through  the  neck  of  it.  Thence,  after 
receiving  another  drenching  from  its  combing  waves,  she  dashed  on  without  further 
accident,  to  the  quiet  bosom  of  the  river  below  Lewiston.  Thus  was  accomplished 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  perilous  voyages  ever  made  by  men. 


yy 


THE    (LJl^TfL^JKZ^. 


RMING  the  Cataract  of  Niagara  are  three  separate  Falls,  pro- 
duced by  the  intervention  of  islands  dividing  the  river  in  its 
descending  course,  and  presenting,  on  their  southern  sides,  high 
precipices,  the  extension  of  which  forms  the  area  of  descent. 
^  That  portion  of  the  torrent  which  is  between  Goat  and  Luna 
Islands,  is  called  the  Central  Fall.  Between  the  American 
shore  and  Luna  Island  is  the  American  Fall;  and  the  British 
or  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  between  Goat  Island  and  the  Canadian 
shore.  The  two  former  Cascades  viewed  together  are  usually  called 
the  American  Fall,  and  have  a  descent  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
feet;  they  stretch  to  an  extent  of  one  thousand  feet.  The  Horse-Shoe 
Fall  is  the  largest  portion  of  the  Cataract,  having  an  extent  of  two 
thousand  and  one  hundred  feet,  and  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  feet.  Its  shape  is  more  like  an  Indian  bow  than  a  horse  shoe, 
the  curve  of  which,  in  its  center,  is  always  obscured  by  the  clouds  of 
vapor  that  ascend  from  the  turbulent  tide  below.  The  water  is  pre- 
cipitated over  a  ledge  of  rocks  in  a  compact  mass  into  a  chasm,  the  depth  of  which 
has  never  been  correctly  ascertained.  From  the  violence  and  rapidity  of  the  water 
below,  all  efforts  to  fathom  it  have  been  vain;  but  it  is  supposed  to  be  about  two 
hundred  and  forty  feet  deep. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  arrive  at  a  correct  estimate  of  the  amount 
of  water  passing  over  the  precipice  of  Niagara  Dr.  Dwight,  taking  the  depth, 
width,  and  velocity  of  the  current,  as  his  data,  calculated  that  more  than  eighty-five 
millions  of  tons  went  over  per  hour.  By  another  calculation,  supposing  the  current 
to  run  at  the  rate  of  six  miles  per  hour,  instead  of  five  as  in  the  first,  the  quantity 
has  been  estimated  at  the  rate  of  102,093,750  tons  per  hour.  But  this  estimate  of 
the  velocity  of  the  tide  is  regarded  as  too  high,  a  point  however  which  can  scarcely 
be  decided  upon  from  the  fierceness  and  force  of  the  falling  torrent.  The  following 
table  of  calculations  respecting  the  amount  of  water  flowing  down  the  Niagara  river, 
is  taken  from  the  Geological  Survey  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

By  Dr.  Dwight,  it  is  estimated  at         31,492,742  cubic  feet  per  minute. 


By  Mr.  Darby, 
By  Mr.  Pickens, 
By  Mr.  Barrett, 


27,878,400 
18,087,533 
19,500,000 


!I4 


The  last  estimate   is   from    three  different  observations   made  at  Black   Rock. 
The  extremes    of  all    the   observations   did   not   vary  more   than    20,000   feet  per 

minute.      It  will  be  seen   from   the 


variations  in  the  foresfoino-  calcula- 
tions  that  a  correct  estimate  can 
scarcely  be  arrived  at  upon  this 
point.  A  general  idea  therefore 
only  may  be  gained  of  the  immense 
quantity  of  water  that  flows  so  un- 
interruptedly at  these  Falls.  This 
idea  may  be  more  fully  impressed 
upon  the  mind,  by  considering  also 
the  fact,  that  the  lakes  and  tributary 
streams  supplying  the  river  Niag- 
ara, cover  a  surface  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square 
miles;  the  land  surface  drained  by 
diem  measuring  nearly  half  a  mil- 
lion of  square  miles.  The  spray 
arising  from  this  immense  mass  of 
falling  water  is  always  ascending, 
and  visible  in  moving  columns,  ex- 
cept when  scattered  by  the  winds. 
It  assumes  a  pyramidal  form,  and 
passes  off  into  clouds  that  hover 
over  the  point  from  which  it  ascends, 
and  is  seen  at  great  distance. 

The  grandest  view  of  every  shade 
of  color  included  in  the  rainbow, 
may  be  seen  by  the  morning's  sun 
above  the  Falls.  From  the  head  of 
the  rapids,  as  near  the  Falls  as  pos- 
sible, gigantic  clouds  of  mists  are 
seen  arising  at  the  edge  of  the  cata- 
ract. In  passing  slowly  over,  with 
the  sun  several  hours  high  at  your 
I  back,  every  conceivable  hue  of  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow   can   be  ex- 


amined  in   turn,  at  leisure,   a  sight  which   would   dazzle  an   artist  with  a  specimen 
of  nature's  painting  hard  to  imitate. 

95 


THE    NEW   SUSPENSION   BRIDGE. 

tHIS  ELEGANT  structure  was  completed  in  1869,  and  is  located  some 
300  yards  below  the  American  Falls.  It  is  1268  feet  in  length,  and  calcu- 
*  lated  only  for  a  carriage  way  and  foot  walk.  The  height  of  the  bridge  above 
the  river  is  190  feet  and  the  towers  at  each  end  are  over  100  feet  high.  These  are 
provided  with  suitable  stairways  and  elevators  to  reach  the  top,  from  which  fine 
views  of  the  scenery  can  be  had.  The  bridge  is  undisturbed  by  ordinary  winds; 
but  winds  that  are  but  gentle  breezes  on  the  land,  strike  the  bridge  with  the  force  of 
a  brisk  gale,  and  a  gale  on  land  becomes  a  storm  on  the  water.  The  winds  press 
through  the  gorge  as  through  a  funnel.  Even  in  calm  weather,  puffs  of  wind  come 
up  from  the  Falls,  surcharged  with  spray,  and  then,  there  may  be  seen,  in  sunshine, 
the  new  phenomenon  of  a  rainbow,  both  over  and  under  the  platform,  describing 
a-complete  circle  round  about  the  bridge. 

One  of  America's  foremost  writers,  whose  works  have  probably  ministered  a 
pure  and  wholesome  delight  to  a  greater  number  of  readers  than  those  of  any 
other  American  author,  Howells,  describes,  in  his  history  of  a  certain  wedding 
journey  to  Niagara  Falls,  the  superb  view  from  this  bridge.  "The  last  hues  of 
sunset  lingered  in  the  mists  that  sprung  from  the  base  of  the  Falls  with  a  mournful, 
tremulous  grace,  and  a  movement  weird  as  the  play  of  the  Northern  Lights.  They 
were  touched  with  the  most  delicate  purples  and  crimsons,  that  darkened  to  deep 
red,  and  then  faded  from  them  at  a  second  look,  and  they  flew  upward,  swiftly 
upward,  like  troops  of  pale,  transparent  ghosts;  while  a  perfectly  clear  radiance, 
better  than  any  other  for  local  color,  dwelt  upon  the  scene.  Far  under  the  bridge 
the  river  smoothly  ran,  the  undercurrents  forever  unfolding  themselves  upon  the  sur- 
face with  a  vast  roselike  evolution,  edo-ed  all  round  with  faint  lines  of  white,  where 
the  air  that  filled  the  water  freed  itself  in  foam.  What  had  been  clear  green  on 
the  face  of  the  cataract  was  here  more  like  rich  verd  antique,  and  had  a  look  of 
firmness  almost  like  that  of  the  stone  itself.  So  it  showed  beneath  the  bridge, 
and  down  the  river  till  the  curving  shores  hid  it.  These,  springing  abruptly  from 
the  water's  brink,  and  shagged  with  pine  and  cedar,  displayed  the  tender  verdure 
of  grass  and  bushes  intermingled  with  the  dark  evergreens  that  climb  from  ledge 
to  ledge,  till  they  point  their  speary  tops  above  the  crest  of  the  bluffs.  In  front, 
where  tumbled  rocks  and  expanses  of  naked  clay  varied  the  gloomier  and  gayer 
green,  sprung  those  spectral  mists;  and  through  them  loomed  out,  in  its  manifold 
majesty,  Niagara,  with  the  seemingly  immovable,  white  Gothic  screen  of  the  Amer- 
ican ball,  and  the  green  massive  curve  of  the  Horse-Shoe,  solid  and  simple  and 
calm  as  an  Egyptian  wall;  while  behind  this,  with  their  white  and  black  expanses 
broken  by  dark-foliaged  little  isles,  the  steep  Canadian  rapids  billowed  down 
between  their  heavily  wooded  shores." 

96 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   THE   FALLS. 


98 


FI^OM   CITY   TO   (Zfl^rjIISJHLl?. 


LADY    DUFFUS    HARDY. 


I 


ROM  Toronto  we  steam  across  the  lake  to  the  village  of  Niagara, 

where  a  train  is  waiting  to  carry  us  on  to  the  falls  about  half  an 

hour  further  on.      We    all  watch    from  the  windows,  eager  to 

catch  our  first  glimpse  of  the  world's  great  wonder.     We  feel 

a  nervous  anxiety  to  stand  in   its  majestic   presence.      I  quote 

from  my  companion's  note-book  on  the  spot.    "There  was  a  break 

in  the  wood,  a  flash  of  white,  a  cloud  of  spray  tossed  high  above 

the  tree-tops;   then  the  dark   woods  closed  again.     That 

glimpse,  flashing  upon  us  and  passing  before  we  could  fully 

realize  that  the  great  tumbling  mass  was  indeed  Niagara, 

can  hardly  be  called  our  first  view  of  it.  It  was 

a  moonless  night,  and  in  the  dusk  we  could  only  obscurely 

trace  the  vast  vague  outline  of  the  two  falls,  divided  by  the  blurred 

mass  of  shapeless  shadows  which  we  learned  was  Goat  Island. 

As  we  looked  upon  them  silently,  and  listened  to  the  ceaseless 

boom  like  distant  thunder,  which  shook  the  ground  beneath  our 

xfeet,  across  the  snowy  veil  of  the  American  Fall,  to  our  left,  shot  rays 

of  rosy  light,  which  melted  into  amber,   then   into  emerald.     They  were 

illuminating  the  great  waters  with  colored  calcium  lights!      *     *     *      But 

the  brilliant  rays  which  fell  across  the  American   Falls,  and  which  were  turned  on 

and  off  like  a  dissolving  view,  did  not  reach  to  the   Horse-Shoe   Fall  away  to  our 

right.      Vast,  solemn,  shadowy,  we  could  just  distinguish   its  form   in  the  darkness, 

could  hear  the  deep  murmur  of  its  awful  voice.     And  there,  between  it  and  us,  what 

was  tliat  we  saw?    Was  it  some  huge  pale  ghost  standing  sentinel  before  Niagara? 

White,  spectral,  motionless,  it  rose  up  and  reached  towards  the  stars — shapeless,  dim, 

vague  as  a  veiled  ghost.     There  was  something  almost  supernatural  about  it,  it  was 

like  a  colossal  spectre,  wrapped  in  a  robe  of  strange  dim  light. 

"'How  fine  and  upright  the  column  of  spray  is  to-night,'  said  a  strange  voice 

beside  us.     This  broke  the  illusion      But  yet  it  seemed  impossible  that  our  ghost 

should  be  only  a  pillar  of  rising  and  falling  spray!    We  saw  it  again,  daily  and  nightly, 

but  seldom  arain  like  that.     We  saw  it  blown  along--  in  clouds;  we  saw  it  like  a  great 

veil  hiding  the  whole  face  of  the  Fall;  we  saw  it  one  evening  at  sunset  leaping  and 

sparkling  like  a  fountain  of  liquid  gold, — but  only  once  again  did  we  see  it  rise  up  in 

that  shape,  the  dim  and  ghostly  guardian  of  the  night. —  Through  Cities  and  Prairie 

Lands. 

99 


NlflG^JI   F^hliS   FROM   C^NJIDJI. 


O  GAZE  into  the  face  of  the  cataract  and  obtain  a  most  comprehensive 
view  of  Niagara,  one  must  stand  upon  the  public  road  which  follows  the 
edge  of  the  cliff  on  the  Canada  side.  Approaching  the  Falls  from  the 
north,  almost  every  step  reveals  new  scenes  and  variations  in  a  mighty  and  won- 
drous panorama.  Here  is  the  foot  bridge,  and  within  a  few  rods  the  road  to  the 
ferry  winds  its  way  to  the  water's  edge  below.  The  ferry-boat,  manned  by  veritable 
athlets,  tosses  like  an  egg-shell  on  the  heaving  and  convulsed  water,  one  moment 
gliding  swiftly  down  the  stream  in  the  round  of  an  eddy,  the  next,  lifted  up  by  a 
boiling  wave  as  if  it  were  tossed  up  from  the  scoop  of  a  giant's  hand  beneath  the 
water.  Away  southward  "the  cataract  flashes,  and  thunders  and  agonizes — an 
almighty  miracle  of  grandeur  for  ever  going  on; — the  sight  is  riveted  on  the  yeasty 
writhe  in  the  abysm,  and  the  solemn  pillars  of  crystal  eternally  falling,  like  the  frag- 
ments of  some  palace-crested  star,  descending  through  interminable  space.  The 
white  field  of  the  iris  forms  over  the  brow  of  the  cataract,  exhibits  its  radiant  bow, 
and  sails  away  in  a  vanishing  cloud  of  vapor  upon  the  wind  ;  the  tortured  and 
convulsed  surface  of  the  caldron  below  shoots  out  its  frothy  and  seething  circles  in 
perpetual  torment;  the  thunders  are  heaped  upon  each  other,  the  earth  trembles;" — 
the  rocks  and  woods  around  are  tinged  with  the  ever-changing  rays  of  the  rainbow; 
the  spectator  sees  the  whole  sweep  of  the  great  cataract  spread  before  him  at  once, 
in  a  fine  panoramic  view  of  both  Falls.  "Their  general  outline,"  from  a  description 
in  Harper's  Monthly,  "bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the  shape  of  the  human  ear;  the 
Horse-Shoe  Fall  constituting  the  upper  lobe,  while  Goat  Island  and  the  American 
Fall  represent  the  remaining  portion  The  river,  whose  general  course  has  been 
east  and  west,  makes  a  sharp  turn  to  the  right  just  at  the  point  where  the  Fall  now  is. 
Its  breadth  is  here  contracted  from  three-fourths  of  a  mile  to  less  than  one-fourth. 
The  Horse-Shoe  Fall  only  occupies  the  head  of  the  chasm,  while  the  American 
Cataract  falls  over  its  side;  so  that  this  Fall  and  a  part  of  the  Horse- Shoe  lie  directly 
parallel  with  the  Canada  shore,  and  its  whole  extent  can  be  taken  in  at  a  single 
glance.  It  is  this  oneness  of  aspect  which  renders  the  prospect  from  this  side  so 
much  the  more  impressive  for  a  first  view  of  Niagara.  It  gives  a  strong,  sharp 
outline  which  ma}-  afterward  be  filled  up  at  leisure." 

TABLE    ROCK. 

Within  a  short  distance  stands  all  that  remains  of  the  Table  Rock;  a  narrow 

ledge  along  the  bank,  at  the  edge  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall.     "On  arriving  at  the 

too 


great  Horse-Shoe  Fall,"  says  Murray,  "description  must  stop  short;  and  to  those 
who  have  not  seen  it,  imagination  must  be  left  to  finish  a  picture  of  which  words  can 
give  but  a  feeble  outline.  How  can  language  convey  expressions  too  tremendous 
and  sublime  even  for  the  mind  to  bear?  How  can  it  presume  to  embody  a  scene  on 
which  the  eye  could  not  gaze,  to  which  the  ear  could  not  listen,  and  which  the 
oppressed  and  overwhelmed  power  of  reflection  could  not  contemplate  without 
feelings  of  awe,  wonder,  and  delight,  so  intense  as  to  amount  almost  to  pain!" 

Who  doth  not  feel,  until  his  failing  sight 
Faints  into  dimness  with  its  own  delight, 
His  changing  cheek,  his  sinking  heart  confess, 
The  might— the  majesty  ? 

— Bride  of  Abydos. 

The  sight  is  indeed  impressive,  the  view  entrancing,  the  abyss  fascinating. 
Basil  Hall  mentions  this  curious  effect: 
ble  that  the 
Fall  might 
swell  up  and 
grasp  us  in 
its  vortex. 
The  actual 
presence  of 
any  very 
powerful 
moving  ob- 
ject, is  often 
more  or  less 
remotely 
connected 


"  It  seemed  to  the  imagination  not  impossi- 

with  a  feel- 
ing that  its 
direction 
may  be  al- 
tered; and 
w hen  the 
slightest 
variation 
would  evi- 
dentlyprove 
fatal,  a  feel- 
ing of  awe 
is  easily  ex- 
cited. At  all 

events,  as  I  gazed  upon  the  cataract,  it  more  than  once  appeared  to  increase  in  its 
volume,  and  to  be  accelerated  in  its  velocity,  till  my  heated  fancy  became  strained, 
alarmed,  and  so  much  overcrowded  with  new  and  old  images, — all  exaggerated, — 
that  in  spite  of  the  conviction  that  the  whole  was  nonsense,  I  felt  obliged  to  draw 
back  from  the  edge  of  the  rock;  and  it  required  a  little  reflection  and  some  resolu- 
tion, to  advance  again  to  the  brink."  Guides  and  dresses  can  be  procured  at  this 
point  for  a  visit  to  the  cavernous  recess  under  the  Great  Fall. 

THE    RAPIDS. 

Apparently  illimitable,  seeming  to  pour  from  the  blue  sky.  the  Canadian  Rapids 

are  full  before  you.    Forming  a  grand  and  striking  feature  in  the  scenery  of  Niagara, 

they  are  produced  by  the  compression  of  the  river  to  the  width  of  two  miles  and  a 

half  just  below  the  termination  of  Grand  and  Navy  Islands;  and  by  its  course  for 

10J 


GENERA*-    VIEW    OF    FALLS    FROM   CANADA. 


the  distance  of  three  quarters  of  a  mile  over  ledges  of  rugged  rocks,  making  a 
descent  of  fifty-two  feet  on  the  American  side,  and  fifty-seven  on  the  Canada  side. 
It  is  impossible  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  this  rushing,  boiling  tide,  that  sweeps 
down,  through  the  islands  towards  the  verge,  as  if  a  myriad  of  war-steeds,  neighing 
and  painting,  were  contending  with  the  most  intense  ferocity.  The  Rapids  form  the 
prelude  to  the  grander  displays  of  the  Falls  themselves,  and  viewed  alone,  are 
unequalled  in  their  kind. 

CLARK    HILL    ISLANDS. 

On  the  road  past  Table  Rock,  and  only  a  few  rods  distant,  is  Cedar  Island, 
connected  with  the  main  land  at  either  extremity  by  a  pretty  little  truss  bridge.  On 
this  island  stands  a  Pagoda,  over  eighty  feet  in  height,  and  a  noticeable  land-mark 
W  '"  -  '*  from  all  points  in  the  vicinity  of  the 

Falls.       Leaving  Cedar   Island,   the 
Grand  Rapids  Drive  is  entered  upon. 
It  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  roadways 
around     Niagara,    extending'    for    a 
quarter    of  a    mile    close   along   the 
shore  of  the  Canadian  Rapids.    The 
view  it  affords  of  the  Rapids  is  grand, 
beyond  description.     Clark  Hill  Is- 
lands, five  in  number,  situated  in  the 
rapids  of  the  Niagara  river,  are  con- 
nected, at  either  side,  with  the  shore 
by  an  elegant  suspension  bridge  of 
two    hundred    and    fifty    feet    span. 
These  two  bridges  have  been  appro- 
priately named  "  Castor,"  and  "  Pol- 
lux."       The    scenery    through    the 
islands  is  of  the  most  varied  character;  the  quiet  rip- 
pling of  the   narrow  streams   meandering  among  the 
well -wooded  islands  is  in  strong  contrast  to  the  turbu- 
lence of  the  waters  that  hurry  on,  washing  the  shores 
of  the  group.     The  whole  scene  is  one  of  sweet  repose. 


OF   AMERICAN   FALL. 


THE    BURNING    SPRING. 


At  the  eastern  end  of  the  bridge  "  Pollux,"  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  near  the 
head  of  the  Rapids,  about  a  mile  above  the  Falls,  is  located  the  Burning  Spring. 
A  gas  flows  through  the  water,  which  burns  with  a  pale  blue  flame  when  ignited. 
It  is  described  by  the  geologist  Lyell,  as  follows:  "  Carburetted  hydrogen,  or,  in  the 
modern  chemical  phraseology,  a  light  hydro-carbon,  rises  from  beneath  the  water 

102 


-     £ 1  g        I 


ALONG  THE   BURNING    SPRING   DRIVE. 


103 


out  of  the  limestone  rock.  The  bituminous  matter  supplying  this  gas  is  probably  of 
animal  origin,  as  this  limestone  is  full  of  marine  mollusca,  Crustacea  and  corals, 
without  vegetable  remains,  unless  some  fucoids  may  have  decomposed  in  the  same 
strata.  The  invisible  gas  makes  its  way  in  countless  bubbles  through  the  clear 
transparent  waters  of  the  Niagara.  On  the  application  of  a  lighted  candle,  it  takes 
fire,  and  plays  about  with  a  lambent,  flickering  flame,  which  seldom  touches  the 
water,  the  gas  being  at  first  too  pure  to  be  inflamable,  and  only  obtaining  sufficient 
oxygen  after  mingling  with  the  atmosphere  "  For  the  purpose  of  experiments, 
witnessed  by  the  visitors,  the  gas  is  collected  in  a  cylinder,  allowed  to  pass  out 
of  the  top  of  it  through  an  inch  pipe.  After  certain  experiments  are  made,  show- 
ing the  tremendous  force  of  the  gas,  the  cylinder  is  removed,  and  the  gas  ignited 
on  the  surface  of  the  water,  through  which  it  escapes. 

ABOVE    THE    FALLS. 

Following  the  old  Portage  road  from  the  Burning  Spring  to  the  Falls,  brings  the 

visitor  to  a  point  on  the  bluff,  where  the 
river  makes  a  sharp,  big  inshore,  along 
the  tracks  of  the  Michigan  Central,  and 
upon  this  spot  a  platform  has  been  erected 
by  the  Company  to  allow  undisturbed  en- 
joyment of  the  most  striking  view  of  the 
Cataract.  "Niagara  should  be  first  ap- 
proached from  above,  and  from  the  Can- 
ada shore,"  is  a  sentiment  echoed  and  re- 
echoed by  the  writers  of  past  generations; 
and  the  one  comprehensive  view,  the 
grouping  of  Rapids  and  Islands  and  Falls 
and  Gorge  as  seen  from  Falls  View  sta- 
tion on  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad,  pre- 
sents a  picture  of  surpassing  beauty.  The 
vast  concave  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara  opens 
upon  your  view.  The  American  Fall 
forms  the  farther  extremity  of  the  semi-circle,  breaking  in  a  broad  white  sheet  of 
loam  upon  a  heap  of  rocks  below.  Close  by  its  inner  extremity  is  a  gush  of  water 
— the  Centre  Fall — which  in  any  other  situation  would  be  esteemed  a  considerable 
cascade,  but  here  seems  but  a  fragment  of  the  larger  cataract  separated  by  a  small 
rocky  island  in  the  bed  of  the  river.  The  eye  then  rests  upon  the  precipitous  end 
of  Goat  Island,  consisting  of  accumulated  masses  of  stone,  in  horizontal  strata,  sup- 
porting a  scanty  covering  of  earth,  and  crowded  to  the  edge  with  pines.  Then  the 
curve  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall  rounds  into  prospect  with  full  view  of  the  Islands  and 
the  angry  Canadian    Rapids.     "  Your  eye  fixes  upon  some  special  white  crest  of 

104 


GLIMPSE    OF    AMEK1CAH    FALL. 


105 


foam,  and  follows  it  down  until  it  melts  away  into  a  smooth  green  surface  rounding 
gently  over,  and  disappearing  in  an  abyss  the  depth  of  which  you  cannot  see.  This 
green  slope  sweeps  round  in  a  magnificent  curve  to  the  right ;  beyond  this  is  a 
purple-gray  precipice,  and  still  further  on  a  white  cataract  flashing  back  the  sun- 
beams. From  the  centre  of  the  curve,  a  pillar  of  spray  floats  calmly  up,  with  the 
crown  of  a  rainbow  .just  rising  above  the  verge  of  the  abyss."  And  again,  and 
again,  will  the  eye  wander  from  right  to  left,  and  from  left  to  right;  from  the  point 
of  the  American  Fall  to  the  near  shore  line  of  the  Horse-Shoe,  and  vice-versa, 
sweeping  around  the  circumference  of  the  majestic  curve  of  Niagara.  At  a  short 
distance  from  this  point  a  very  pretty  glimpse  of  the  American  Fall  can  be  caught 
through  an  opening  in  the  bank  designated  as  the  "Jolly  Cut." 

lundy's  lane. 
To  the  west,  about  one  and  one-half  miles  distant,  stands  a  tower  erected  upon  the 
famous  battle-field  of  Lundy's  Lane.  On  July  25th,  18 14,  the  decisive  battle  of  the 
war  was  fought  here.  An  old  campaigner  who  does  the  honors  at  the  observatory  (and 
though  old  campaigners 
live  and  die,  the  one  oc- 
cupying the  post,  is  an 
original  old  campaigner, 
spiritually  to  say  the 
least,) — has,  they  say, 
two  versions  of  the 
action,  which  he  pro- 
duces as  he  supposes 
may  suit  the  nationality 
Drummondville,  the  original  Canadian  city  at  the  Falls,  so  called  in  honor  of  General 
Drummond,  the  traveler  wends  his  way  along  a  pleasant  road  to  the 

WHIRLPOOL    RAPIDS 

just  below  the  old  Suspension  Bridge.-  Here  a  staircase  and  also  an  inclined  railway 
conducts  one  easily  and  safely  to  the  platform  below,  whence  the  sight  of  the  old 
bridge  above,  the  roaring  rapids,  the  distant  whirlpool,  and  the  shady  walk  along  the 
water's  edge,  give  splendid  views.  The  whole  volume  of  water  rushes  by  with 
marvelous  rapidity,  boiling  and  seething  in  its  narrow  channels. 

THE    WHIRLPOOL. 

Below  the  Whirlpool  Rapids  is  situated  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of 
the  gorge  of  Niagara — the  Whirlpool, — worthy  of  more  attention  than  is  usually 
given  to  it  by  visitors  in  general.  Brock's  Monument,  erected  on  the  Queenston 
Heights,  four  miles  distant,  is  visible  from  this  point,  and  the  Niagara  river  winds 
away  to  the  north,  till  it  is  lost  in  Lake  Ontario  beyond. 

106 


of  his  auditors.  The 
story  goes,  however, 
that  years  ago,  General 
Scott  was  regaled  with 
the  English  version,  and 
then  learned  for  the 
first  time  how  thorough- 
ly he  was  beaten  upon 
that  well-contested  field. 
Through  the  village  of 


THE   I?OfII^   OF   THE   F^IiIiS, 


ESPECTING  the  thundering  of  the  waters,   the  eternal  roar  of 

the   cataract,    many   and  conflicting    are    the    statements   handed 

KMs  down  to  us  by  the  writers  of  two  centuries  past.     Father  Henne- 

jA      pin,  in  a  most  candid  manner,  states  its  deafening  powers,  and  in 

Lt>  his  sketch,  represents  the  members  of  the  observation  party 


^presents 
holding  their  hands  to  the  ears,  to  shut  out,  as  it  were,  the 
'Mwxfjl??  ^^T?D     unpleasant   and    terrific    sounds.       Robert   Sutcliff,    in    1805, 

|o\f^|?  writes:  "I  could  very  distinctly  hear  the  noise  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara, 
lo?/$  although  then  about  twenty-four  miles  from  that  stupendous  cataract.  The 
distance  at  which  the  people  in  these  parts  say  the  Falls  may  be  heard,  when 
the  wind  and  other  concurrent  circumstances  are  favorable,  is  almost  incred- 
ible. I  met  with  a  reputable  looking  farmer,  driving  a  team  of  four  fine 
oxen  upon  the  road,  who  told  me,  with  all  the  gravity  of  a  man  speaking  the 
^  truth,  that  he  sometimes  heard  them  very  plainly  at  his  residence,  forty  miles 
distant,  when  the  air  was  calm  and  serene." 

Duncan,  in    1S18,  says:   "Most  of  the  accounts  of  the  Falls  mention  that 
\  the  sound  of  them  is  heard  at  a  very  great  distance.     This  is  comparatively 

seldom  the  case.  I  have  been  told,  in  the  neighborhood,  that  in  particular 
states  of  the  barometer,  and  especially  before  stormy  weather,  the  sound  of  the 
cataract  is  heard  twenty  miles  off,  or  even  farther;  but  on  several  occasions  I  could 
with  difficulty  distinguish  it  at  a  distance  of  two  miles,  and  sometimes,  I  understand, 
it  does  not  reach  so  far." 

Ten  years  later,  in  1828,  Stuart  states  positively:  "We  distinctly  heard  the 
sound  of  the  cataract,  about  ten  miles  from  the  Falls;  but  it  is  often  heard  at  a  far 
greater  distance  in  favorable  states  of  the  wind  and  atmosphere." 

Charles  Dickens,  the  great  English  novelist,  in  American  Notes,  gives  his 
experience  as  follows:  "I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  noise  of  the  Falls  is  very 
much  exaggerated;  and  this  will  appear  the  more  probable  when  the  depth  of  the 
great  basin  in  which  the  water  is  received  is  taken  into  account.  At  no  time  during 
our  stay  there  was  the  wind  at  all  high  or  boisterous,  but  we  never  heard  them  three 
miles  off,  even  at  the  very  quiet  time  of  sunset,  though  we  often  tried." 

Some  assert  that  along  the  course  of  the  river,  the  sound  is  perceptible  at  a 
distance  of  fourteen  miles.  Yet  it  is  scarcely  heard  within  the  precincts  of  the  Falls, 
above  and  at  a  little  distance  from  them.  Indeed,  the  wonder  is  to  the  visitor,  not 
that  the  cadence  is  so  great,  but  so  small,  compared  with  the  quantity  of 'water  that 
falls  and  the  immense  height  from  which  it  is  precipitated. 

107 


DEPTHS   OF   NIJIGJU^TS   CJINYON. 


W.     H.     BJILLDU, 


V  li  ANY  A  1  l'h  M  I'  !  S  \vi  re  made  previous  to  the  government  survey  in 
¥  ill'  I^'<-)'  t()  obtain  the  depth  of  the  water  in  the  canyon  below  the  Falls. 
Bars  of  railroad  iron,  pails  of  stones,  and  all  unreasonable  and  awkward 
instruments  were  attached  to  long  lines  and  lowered  from  the  railway  suspension 
bridge,  but  positively  refused  to  sink.  The  reason  for  this  is  obvious.  The  very 
bulk  of  the  instruments  was  sufficient,  no  matter  what  their  weight,  to  eive  the 
powerful  undercurrent  the  means  to  buoy  them  upon  or  near  the  surface.  Our 
party,  however,  with  a  small  sounding  lead  of  twelve  pounds  weight,  attached  to 
a  slender  cord,  easily  obtained  the  depths  from  the  Falls  to  the  railway  suspension 
bridge.  One  day  we  launched  a  small  boat  at  the  inclined  railway,  and  entered  on 
a  most  exciting  and  perilous  exploration  of  this  part  of  the  canyon.  The  old  guide, 
long  in  charge  of  the  miniature  ferry  situated  here,  accompanied  the  '* party. 
\\  ith  great  difficulty  we  approached  within  a  short  distance  of  the  American  Falls, 
which  darted  great  jets  of  water  upon  us  and  far  out  into  the  stream.  The  roar 
was  so  terrible  that  no  voice  or  human  sound,  however  near  we  were  to  one 
another,  could  be  heard.  The  leadsman  cast  the  line,  which  passed  rapidly  down, 
and  told  of  eighty-three  feet.  This  was  quite  near  the  shore.  Passing  out  of  the 
friendly  eddy  which  had  assisted  us  so  near  the  Falls  we  shot  rapidly  down  the 
stream.  The  next  cast  of  the  lead  read  one  hundred  feet,  deepening  to  one 
hundred  and  ninety-three  feet  at  the  inclined  railway.  The  average  depth  to  the 
Swift  Drift,  where  the  river  suddenly  becomes  narrow,  with  a  velocity  too  great  to 
be  measured,  was  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  feet.  Just  under  the  railway  bridge 
the  whirlpool  rapids  set  in,  and  so  violently  are  the  waters  agitated  that  they  rise 
like  ocean  billows  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet.  At  this  point  I  computed  the  depth 
at  two  hundred  and  ten  feet,  which  was  accepted  as  approximately  correct. 

The  geological  formation  of  Niagara's  canyon  is  too  well  understood  to  bear 
comment.  Some  of  the  topographical  appearances,  however,  may  be  mentioned. 
The  canyon's  walls  range  from  two  hundred  and  seventy  to  three  hundred  and  sixty 
feet  in  height  above  the  water  level.  Of  course,  they  are  highest  at  their  termina- 
tion at  Lewiston,  where,,  on  the  opposite  side,  the  base  of  Brock's  Monument  is 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  above  water  in  the  canyon.  The  walls  are 
continually  crumbling  owing  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  frost  and  miniature 
springs.  The  debris  is  driven  out  into  Lake  Ontario,  forming  what  are  known  as 
the  Brickbat  Shoals,  situated  three  and  a  half  miles  from  the  river's  mouth.  The 
river  witlfin  the  walls,  more  especially  where  the  canyon  is  narrow,  is  subject  to  rise 
and  fall  at  short  intervals,  if  the  wind  is  heavy  on  Lake  Erie. 

108 


AMERTCAM    FALLS   FROM   COAT    IS1 

109 


IN   WINTER. 


■Sr 


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At 

?!  3d 


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iw 


Hi 


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fee 


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HS& 


ff&J 


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^\^ 


ERY    FEW   persons,    comparatively,    are    aware    of  the 
scenes  of  surpassing  beauty  presented  by  the  Cataract  of 
Niagara,  in  winter.      Its  appearance  is  then  much  more  attractive 
and  glorious,  than  in  the  summer. 

The  trees  are  covered  with  the  most  brilliant  and  sparkling 
coruscations  of  snow  and  ice;  the  islands,  the  shrubs,  the  giant 
rocks,  are  robed  in  the  same  spotless  vesture.  Frozen  spray, 
glittering  and  gleaming  as  brightly  and  vivaciously  as  frozen- 
sunlight,  encases  all  things;  Niagara  Falls  is  the  absolute  domin 
ion  of  the  Ice  King.  In  bright  sunshine,  the  flashing  rays  from 
millions  of  gems  produce  a  bewitching  effect.  "At  such  a 
moment  the  characteristic  attributes  of  Niagara  seem  fused  and 
heightened  into  'something  more  exquisite  still.'  Its  intrinsic 
sublimity  and  beauty  experience  a  liberal  transfiguration.  Nature 
is  visibly  idealized.  Nothing  more  brilliant  or  enchanting  can  be 
conceived.  The  brightest  tales  of  magic  'pale  their  ineffectual 
fires.'  Islands,  whose  flowers  are  thickset  diamonds,  and  forests, 
whose  branches  are  glittering  with  brilliants,  and  amethysts,  and 
pearls,  seem  no  longer  a  luxurious  figment  of  genius,  but  a  living 
and  beaming  reality.  One  feels  in  the  midst  of  such  blazing 
coruscations  and  such  glorious  bursts  of  radiance,  as  if  the  magi- 
cian's ring  had  been  slipped  upon  his  finger  unawares,  and, 
rubbed  unwittingly,  had  summoned  the  eorofeous  scene  before 
him.  It  is  as  if  Mammoth  Cave,  with  its  groves  of  stalactites, 
and  crystal  bowers,  and  gothic  avenues  and  halls,  and  star 
chambers,  and  flashing  grottoes,  were  suddenly  uncapped  to  the 
wintery  sun,  and  bathed  in  his  thrilling  beams;  or  as  if  the  fabled 
palace  of  Neptune  had  risen  abruptly  from  the  deep,  and  were 
flinging  its  splendors  in  the  eye  of  heaven  " 

Upon  the  occurrence  of  a  thaw  sufficient  to  break  up  the  ice 

in  Lake  Erie,  masses  of  floating  ice,  dissevered  from  the  frozen 

lake  and  stream  above,  are  precipitated  over  the  Falls  in  blocks 

of  several  tons  each.     These  remain  at  the  foot  of  the  cataract, 

from  the  stream  being  closed  below,  "and  form  a  natural  bridge 

across  it.     As  they  accumulate,  they  get  progressively  piled  up, 

like  a  Cyclopean  wall,  built  of  huge  blocks  of  ice  instead  of  stone. 

This  singular  masonry  of  nature  gets  cemented  by  the  spray, 

no 


EHIND   THE    HORSE-SHOE    FALL.    IN   WINTER — ICY    FOLIAGE    AND   FORMS. 

Ill 


which  rising  in  clouds  of  mist  as  usual  from  the  foot  of  the  Falls,  attaches  itself  in 
its  upward  progress  to  the  icy  wall,  and  soon  gets  frozen  with  the  rest  of  the  mass, 
helping  to  fill  up  the  interstices  between  the  larger  blocks  of  which  this  architec- 
ture is  composed." 

This  icy  wall  or  mound  rises  up  from  the  base  of  the  torrent  in  a  bulwark  of 
pyramidal  form,  in  front  of  the  Falls,  within  a  few  feet  of  the  edge  of  the  precipice, 
to  a  height  of  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  upper  stream.  Scal- 
ing the  mound  is  an  exhilarating  and  laborious  exercise,  but  the  near  sight  of  the 
maddened  waters  plunging  into  the  depths  of  an  unfathomable  vortex  below,  is  a 
fitting  reward  for  the  adventurous  undertaking. 

The  ice-bridge  generally  extends  from  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  to  a  point  near  the 
Railway  bridge,  lasts  generally  from  two  to  three  months,  and  is  crossed  by  hun- 
dreds of  foot  passengers  during  the  winter.  The  ice  forming  the  bridge  is  ordin- 
arily from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  thick — rising  from  fifty  to  sixty 
feet  above  the  natural  surface  of  the  river.  The  tinge  of  the  waters,  from  the  dark 
green  of  summer,  is  changed  to  a  muddy  yellow;  huge  icicles,  formed  by  an  accum- 
ulation of  frozen  spray,  hang  perpendicularly  from  the  rocks;  the  trees  on  Goat 
Island  and  Prospect  Park  seem  partially  buried;  a  mass  of  quaint  and  curious 
crystalline  forms  stand  in  lieu  of  the  bushes;  the  buildings  seem  to  sink  under  pon- 
derous coverings  of  snow  and  ice;  the  tops  of  trees  and  points  of  rock  on  which  the 
dazzling  white  frost  work  does  not  lie,  stand  out  in  bold  contrast,  forming  the  deep 
shadows  of  the  entrancing  picture;  the  whole  presents  a  wild,  savage  aspect,  grand 
and  imposing. 

Goat  Island  remains,  in  winter,  one  of  the  chief  centers  of  attraction.  A 
prominent  English  physician,  Dr.  Wm.  Sharp,  writes:  "I  can  never  forget  my 
first  visit  to  it  in  December,  1880.  The  snow  was  falling  thickly  at  the  time.  Old 
Nicholson  constituted  himself  as  guide  and  proved  to  be  both  useful  and  amusing. 
The  Canadian  side  was  altogether  hidden  by  the  hazy  mist  of  the  falling  snow,  and 
never  since  or  before  did  I  look  upon  a  scene  so  awfully  grand  and  impressive  as 
Niagara  then  presented.  There,  with  old  Nicholson  in  the  back  ground,  I  was  alone 
with  nature.  A  sense  of  vague  immensity  that  was  almost  appalling  engrossed  the 
attention.  All  was  solitude,  vastness  and  silence,  save  the  deep  thunder  of  the  Falls 
that  swelled  ever  like  a  mighty  anthem,  and  as  if  in  keeping  with  the  weird  sublimity 
of  the  scene,  two  gulls,  like  restless,  wandering  spirits  of  the  deep,  swept  ceaselessly 
to  and  fro,  now  vanishing  from  sight  and  now  emerging  from  the  mist  and  gloom." 

If  one  can  see  Niagara  but  once,  it  had  better  be  in  winter  than  in  summer. 
The  scene  is  one  of  peerless  grandeur,  worth  going  hundreds  of  miles  to  behold. 


112 


JL  BOLD  swim. 


Captain  Webb's  Hazardous  Feat, 


Zj^*  ASH  IS  THE  man  who  incurs  risk  or  hazard  from 
!^5__  a  mere  impulse  without  counting  the  cost;  adventur- 
•  ous  is  he  who  does  it  from  a  love  of  the  arduous  and 
the  bold;  foolhardy  he  who  throws  himself  into  danger 
in  disregard  or  defiance  of  the  consequences.  These 
qualifications  of  the  mad  attempt  made  by  Captain 
Matthew  Webb  to  swim  down  the  Whirlpool  Rapids 
J.  and  through  the  Whirlpool,  on  the  24th  day  of  July, 
1883,  are  certainly,  in  view  of  the  facts,  not  too  severe 
strictures.  Moved  by  a  desire  for  notoriety,  this  bold 
and  brave  athlete,  who  had  many  times  faced  the  surging 
billows  of  an  angry  sea,  without  other  means  of  safety 
than  nature  had  provided  him,  announced  his  purpose  to  swim 
the  Whirlpool  Rapids  in  the  Niagara  River.  This  was  heralded 
by  the  press,  and  discussions  as  to  the  possibilities  and  chances  of  success  agitated 
many  minds.  Captain  Webb  looked  upon  the  scheme  as  a  pleasant  undertaking. 
His  friends  and  the  public  looked  upon  it  as  certain  death.  The  great  swimmer 
was  confident  that  he  could  make  the  trip  in  safety,  He  carefully  looked  over  the 
ground,  but  he  had  failed  to  realize  the  immensity  of  the  undertaking,  and  so 
deliberately  gave  up  his  life. 

Captain  Webb  was  a  native  of  Shropshire,  England,  and  the  son  of  a  physician. 
He  went  to  sea  at  an  early  age,  and  became  the  captain  of  a  merchantman.  He 
first  attracted  public  notice  by  jumping  from  the  Cunard  mail  steamer  "  Russia." 
during  a  storm,  to  save  a  sailor  who  fell  overboard.  For  this  he  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  the  first  gold  medal  given  by  the  Royal  Humane 
Society.  In  1875  he  accomplished  his  greatest  feat,  swimming  across  the  English 
Channel  from  Dover  to  Calais.  The  trial  took  place  August  24th  and  25th,  and 
after  a  desperate  struggle  with  the  choppy  sea  he  accomplished  the  distance  of 
twenty-five  miles  in  2ih.  45mm.,  the  best  time  on  record.  He  has  visited  this 
country  several  times.  On  August  13th,  1879,  he  swam  from  Sandy  Hook  to  Man- 
hattan Beach,  Coney  Island,  a  distance  in  line  of  ten  miles.  Owing  to  the  tides  and 
the  fact  that  his  contract  would  not  permit  him  to  land  at  the  island  before  five  p.  m., 
he  was  in  the  water  eight  hours  and  swam  in  all  about  sixteen  miles.     He  was  a 

113 


man  of  powerful  physique,  being  six  feet  one  inch  tall,  finely  proportioned  and 
weighing  about  two  hundred  pounds  in  condition.  He  was  forty  years  of  age.  He 
leaves  a  wife  and  two  children.     He  has  accumulated  $15,000  by  his  exhibitions. 

For  three-quarters  of  a  mile  below  the  Suspension  Bridge  run  the  Whirlpool 
Rapids,  the  wildest  and  most  tumultuous  portion  of  the  river  Niagara.  The 
tremendous  power  of  the  current  cannot  be  realized.  The  whole  force  of  the  water 
concentrates  itself  here;  it  seems  as  though  it  would  tear  asunder  the  steep,  wooded 


hills  that  enclose  it,  so 
wild  and  startling  is  its 
terrific  power.  As  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach 
the  waters  thunder 
down  in  seething.heav- 
ing  masses,  lashed  into 
foam,  dashing  and 
whirling  into  angry 
billows  twenty  or 
thirty  feet  high, 
through  the  narrow 
passes  of  the  gorge,  i||| 
until  it  reaches  s  j^jjj^ 
climax  at  the  bend  in 


THE    RAPIDS 


the  river,  where  the 
water,  ceaselessly 
coming  down  from 
the  Falls  in  immense 
volume,  is  compressed 
into  a  space  much  too 
small  for  it,  and  meet- 
ing with  this  resist- 
ance, gathers  its 
mighty  force  in  one  su- 
preme  effort,  and 
mounting-  higher  and 
higher,  dashes  past  the 
bend  in  one  continuous 
but  changing  surge  of 


water,  resembling  nothing  so  much  as  the  roll  of  the  ocean  on  a  lea  shore.  One 
hundred  million  tons  of  water  passing  over  the  Falls'  cliff  every  hour,  crowd  through 
this  narrow  defile,  less  than  three  hundred  feet  in  width,  thundering  along  at  a 
velocity  of  twenty-seven  miles  an  hour.  At  no  other  point  does  the  terrific  force 
of  Niagara  so  create  wonderfully  realistic  impressions  upon   the  beholder. 


'ERE   THE  long  valley  crooks,  and  the  flight  of  the  river  is  broken; 
Headlong  it  plunges,  despairing,  and  beats  on  the  bars  of  its  prison; 
Beats,  and  runs  wildly  from  wall  to  wall,  then  strives  to  recover, 
Beats  on  another  still,  and  around  the  circle  is  carried, 
Jostled  from  shoulder  to  shoulder,  til]  losing  its  galloping  motion, 
Dizzily  round  it  swirls,  and  is  dragged  toward  the  hideous  Whirlpool. 

Round  sweeps  the  horrible  maelstrom,  and  into  the  whirl  of  its  vortex 

Circle  a  broken  boat,  an  oar-blade,  things  without  number; 

Striving,  they  shove  one  another,  and  seem  to  hurry,  impatient 

To  measure  the  shadowy  will-be,  and  seek  from  their  torment  a  respite. 

Logs  that  have  leapt  the  Falls  and  swum  unseen  'neath  the  current, 
Here  are  restored  again,  and  weird  is  their  resurrection; 
Here  like  straws  they  are  snapt,  and  grinding  like  millstones  together, 
Chafing  and  splintering  their  mates,  they  wade  in  their  deepening  ruins; 

Till,  without  hope,  on  tiptoe  they  rise,  lips  shriveled  and  speechless, 
Seeing  sure  fate  before  them  that  tightens  its  toils  to  ensnare  them; 
Hollow  the  hell-hole  gapes,  and  ravenously  it  receives  them, — 
All  that  is  left  is  a  sigh,  and  the  echoes  of  that  are  soon  strangled. 

— Houghton's  Kiagara. 
114- 


Such  was  the  course  selected  by  the  plucky  and  resolute  sailor  for  his  exhibition 
of  power  and  endurance — through  a  fearful  channel,  an  eternal  war  of  waters. 
From  a  boat  rowed  to  the  center  of  the  stream,  at  a  point  about  one-quarter  mile 
from  the  head  of  the  rapids,  Captain  Webb  dived  head  first  into  the  water.  It  was 
just  twenty  minutes  past  four  o'clock.  A  few  vigorous  strokes  and  he  was  fairly  in 
the  rapids,  going  breast  on,  his  form  a  mere  speck,  as  seen  from  the  great  bluff 
above.  He  went  like  an  arrow  shot  from  a  bow.  The  first  great  wave  he  struck 
he  went  under,  but  in  a  second  appeared  way  beyond.  The  great  waves  seethed  over 
him  occasionally,  but  he  always  seemed  ready  to  meet  them.  His  great  chest  was 
boldly  pushed  forward,  and  occasionally  half  of  the  magnificent  physique  of  the  reck- 
less adventurer  was  lifted  from  the  water,  but  he  bravely  kept  his  position  through 
it  all  and  seemed  perfectly  collected  and  at  home.  So  the  mad  journey  went  on 
safely  through  the  upper  rapids.     He  passed  then  through  the  lower  ones.     There 

up  one  of  his  arms,  as 


the  waves  dash  higher, 
the  water  is  confined  in 
a  narrower  space,  and 
the  trip  is  in  every  way 
more  perilous  How  far 
he  went  alive  no  one 
will  ever  know.  He  was 
seen  by  m a  n  y  while 
passing  through  this 
awful  sea.  His  body 
was  borne  onward,  now 
rising  above,  now  sink- 
ing beneath  the  white- 
capped  waves.  He  was 
seen  to  enter  the  whirl- 
pool.      Here  he  threw 


if  to  signal  some  unfor- 
seen  danger.  A  second 
later  he  was  buried  in 
the  foaming  billows, 
which  dash  upwards 
forty  or  fifty  feet,  and 
whirl  and  seethe  as  if 
lashed  by  a  thousand 
furies.  This  was  the 
last  seen  of  the  intrepid 
swimmer,  —  his  disap- 
pearance occurring  thir- 
teen minutes  after  he 
entered  the  water.  An 
active  search  was  insti- 
tuted but  no  trace  of  his  body  had  been  found  when  the  shades  of  night  enveloped 
the  troubled  waters  in  a  mantle  of  darkness. 

During  the  afternoon  of  July  28th,  the  body  was  recovered  in  the  river  below 
Lewiston.  The  arms  were  extended  as  though  in  the  act  of  taking  a  swimming 
stroke,  and  the  feet  were  likewise  extended  as  though  in  the  act  of  swimming.  The 
scalp  had  a  deep  gash  about  four  inches  long,  and  the  hips  and  left  shoulder  had  long 
blue  marks  where  the  body  had  struck  the  rocks. 

Theories  as  to  the  direct  cause  of  death  are  rife.  Was  the  life  crushed  out  of 
him  by  the  weight  of  the  water;  was  he  drowned;  or  did  he  loose  his  life  by  diving 
and  striking  on  a  jagged  stone  or  rock?  These  are  questions  surrounded  with 
inscrutable  mystery. 

115 


The  official  report,  of  the  medical  examiners,  at  the  inquest  held  over  the  noted 
swimmer's  remains,  states  that  no  bones  were  found  broken,  and  the  wounds  were 
none  of  them  sufficient  to  have  caused  death.  The  muscular  tissue  was  peculiar; 
when  the  scalpel  was  used  shreds  of  desiccated  muscle  would  be  carried  along  and 
collect  on  the  edge  of  the  knife.  The  blood  was  very  red,  showing  that  it  had  not 
been  deoxidized  by  asphyxia.  "As  the  result  of  our  examination,"  say  the  examiners, 
"we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  death  was  caused  not  by  asphyxia  or  drowning, 
or  by  any  local  injury  by  the  body  coming  in  contact  with  any  hard  substance,  but 
by  the  shock  from  the  reactionary  force  of  the  water  in  the  rapids  coming  in  contact 
with  the  submerged  body  with  sufficient  force  to  instantly  destroy  the  respiratory 
power,  and  in  fact  all  vital  action,  by  direct  pressure  and  force  of  contact — a  shock 
of  sufficient  intensity  to  paralyze  the  nerve  centres,  partially  desiccate  the  muscular 
tissues,  and  forestall  any  possible  sequel  of  death  by  drowning.  The  cause  of  death 
in  passing  through  the  rapids  being  thus  constant  and  in  no  way  accidental,  as  might 
be  the  case  in  drowning,  forces  the  conclusion  that  no  living  body  can  pass  through 
the  rapids  alive.  In  the  first  breaker  he  was  submerged  and  subjected  to  this 
pressure,  death  resulting." 

This  strongly  sustains  the  first  theory,  and  the  appearance  of  the  blood  dispels 
entirely  the  second  one,  that  of  drowning.  As  to  the  third,  its  supporters  claim  un- 
disputable  evidence  in  the  disclosure  of  a  new  fact.  It  has  been  generally  conceded 
that  the  water  from  the  Falls  to  the  Whirlpool  was  very  deep,  and  that  no  rocks  were 
within  many  feet  of  the  surface.  This  is  contradicted  by  George  Barker,  who  for 
twenty  years  has  been  taking  views  of  the  river  and  of  the  Falls.  He  says:  "One 
morning  a  few  years  ago  I  visited  the  Whirlpool  Rapids  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
some  instantaneous  photographs.  The  water  was  very  low,  caused  by  a  heavy  wind 
which  had  been  blowing  up  the  river  above  the  Falls  for  several  days.  I  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that  the  points  where  usually  were  to  be  seen  immense  splashes,  which 
are  the  great  attractions  of  the  Whirlpool  Rapids,  rocks  were  plainly  to  be  seen, 
at  some  points  just  at  the  surface,  at  others  rising  out  of  the  water  two  or  three  feet. 
Several  negatives  taken  at  the  time,  show  immense  rocks  lying  right  in  the  course 
which  Webb  took  in  his  fatal  attempt.  The  views  show  beyond  a  doubt  that  the 
rapids  of  the  Niagara  river  are  studded  with  rocks,  and  the  post  mortem  examiners 
may  be  wrong  in  their  conclusions." 

This  attempt  of  Captain  Webb,  although  a  failure,  has  brought  to  the  front, 
numerous  bold  adventurers  with  unheard  of  schemes,  such  as  descend  the  Falls,  scale 
the  mountains  of  falling  waters,  dive  into  the  Whirlpool,  walk  across  the  upper  rapids, 
etc.,  which,  if  carried  into  effect,  will  add  new  zest  and  spice  to  the  ancient  chronicles 
of  Niagara's  accidents  and  incidents,  so  diversely  and  wondrously  elaborated  by  the 
loquacious  hackman-guide  of  the  Falls. 

116 


DER  THE    FALLS 


117 


INTEI^NJITIONjm   P^K   PROJECT. 


N  THE  fall  of  1878,  Lord  Dufferin,  then  Governor-General  of  Canada, 
suggested  the  idea  of  creating--  an  International  Park  at  Niagara,  from 
lands  adjacent  to  and  including  the  Falls,  to  be  taken  from  both  sides 
^  of  the  river.  Governor  Robinson,  of  New  York,  was  cordially  in  favor 
of  the  project,  and  the  New  York  Legislature  appointed  a  commission  to  investigate 
the  subject  and  report  thereon.  In  1879,  Mr.  James  I.  Gardner,  director  of  the  New 
York  State  Survey,  and  Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  reported  to  the  Legislature. 
The  Canadian  Government  had  also  a  survey  made,  embracing  all  the  lands  between 
the  embankment  above  and  the  river  front,  and  has  been  ready  at  all  times  to 
co-operate  with  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  press  and  the  pulpit  took  up  the  agitation  of  the  question.  Rev.  Robert 
Collyer  at  the  Church  of  the  Messiah  in  New  York  made  it  the  subject  of  an 
elaborate  discourse.  After  extolling  the  glories  of  the  place,  he  catalogued,  in  a 
forcible  manner,  the  shames  of  Niagara,  in  substance  as  follows:  "  One  of  the 
greatest  shames  was  cutting  down  a  long,  sweeping  arbor,  through  which  in  such 
grand  beauty  the  Falls  used  to  loom  up  to  view  half  a  mile  away,  and  through  which 
the  deep,  soft  thunders  of  the  mighty  cataract  fell  upon  the  ear,  a  grand  diapason. 
The  whole  surrounding's  were  now  changed.  There  was  not  a  touch  of  sacredness. 
Mammon  ruled.  Of  course  those  owning  the  land  had  a  right  to  use  it  as  they 
thought  best.  It  was,  however,  clearly  the  duty  of  the  sovereign  people  of  the  State 
of  New  York  to  purchase  it.  This  thing  had  gone  far  enough.  The  noble  park  should 
be  kept  free  to  all  visitors,  the  waters  should  be  rescued  from  the  hordes  of  mills, 
and  all  the  land  about  the  grand  water  flood  be  given  to  the  world  free." 

This  matter  of  an  International  Park  lingered,  however,  till  this  summer,  when 
a  commission  empowered  by  the  New  York  Legislature,  to  select  and  locate  the 
lands  most  desirable  for  the  object  in  view,  and  institute  proceedings  for  acquiring 
the  title  to  these  lands,  met  at  Niagara  Falls.  The  result  of  their  deliberations  is 
briefly  told  by  ex-Lieut.-Gov.  Dorsheimer,  the  president  of  the  commission:  "At 
the  conclusion  of  our  inspection  we  determined  to  take  all  of  the  islands  in  the  river 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  State,  both  Goat,  Bird,  Luna,  Chapin,  and  a  few  more 
adjacent  to  Niagara  river.  In  addition  to  the  islands  we  selected  a  strip  of  land  on 
the  main  shore,  beginning  just  above  the  head  of  the  rapids,  and  ending  at  the  upper 
suspension  bridge."  The  selection  embraces  the  lands  immediately  around  the  Falls, 
and  the  possession  of  this  territory  by  the  State  of  New  York  would  prove  sufficient 
for  the  preservation  of  the  scenery.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the  Whirlpool 
Rapids  and  Whirlpool  are  the  natural  complement  of  the  Falls,  and  should  by  all 
means  be  included  in  the  proposed  park.  Whatever  may  be  the  decision  arrived  at 
upon  this  last  point,  a  Niagara  Reservation  may  now  be  considered  as  a  settled  fact. 

118 


fL    PlxKfl    FOF£    P^ESEI^lfpTION. 


J.    H,    HHRRISDN, 


r^ECOGNIZING  as  I  do  the  unequaled  value  of  Niagara  as  a  source  or 
■*•  P  means  of  strength,  refreshment,  and  happiness  for  many  millions  of  men  and 
women,  and  of  elevation  and  beauty  in  our  National  character,  and  feeling 
most  deeply  interested  in  the  effort  to  restore  and  preserve  it  for  these  high  uses, 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  if  the  ground  about  the  Fall  were  really  needed  for 
cotton  and  paper  mills,  or  any  other  necessary  and  productive  human  industries,  it 
would  be  right  to  take  it  and  appropriate  and  occupy  it  for  these  objects.  We  shall 
have  a  vast  and  crowded  population  in  this  part  of  our  country  before  any  great 
time  has  elapsed,  and  we  are  preparing  conditions  here  in  America  under  which  the 
mass  of  men  must,  in  large  degree,  live  for  bread  for  themselves,  and  little  beyond. 
Whenever  there  is  a  real  conflict  or  antagonism  between  economic,  business  or 
industrial   interests   on     =^^=^^===^_========^==    for   "huddling1  factories 


the  one  hand,  and  ideal  jpf 

or  aesthetic   considera-  ||1 

tions   on   the   other,   the  ^§ 

latter  must  give  way,  =s 

and  rightly,  because  m% 

they  are   secondary  or  pjf 

subordinate  when  com-  pj 

pared  with   the  necessi-  §Hj 

ties  of  physical  subsis-  fij 

tence.      But  in  this  case  pj 

of  Niagara  Falls,  and  the  BE 

question  of  its  preserva-  ^g 
t i o n    or    destruction, 
there  is  no  good  reason 


=  around  the  Falls," — no 
mud  of  it  whatever.  I 
think  it  the  idlest  thing 
in  the  world  for  anybody 
who  desires  the  preser- 
111  vation  of  the  scenery 
here  for  ideal  and  spirit- 
ual uses  to  decry  or  con- 
temn the  commercial 
spirit  or  business  energy 
of  our  time,  or  to  lament 
W=  its  application  to  this 
particular  object, — the 
utilization  of  the  water- 
power  of  Niagara  for  manufacturing  purposes.  He  is  a  poor,  shallow  poet  or  artist 
who  can  see  only  the  poetic  or  artistic  side  of  things.  The  mass  of  men  must 
always  toil.  Infinite  drudgery  is  required  to  sustain  human  life  under  the  conditions 
of  civilized  society.  Millions  of  men  must  labor — must  labor  honestly,  nobly,  and 
happily — that  one  great  poet  may  sing  their  life,  or  one  man  of  divine  genius  paint 
a  picture  of  immortal  power  and  beaut)-. 

Build  the  factories,  then,  and  let  Niagara  turn  their  wheels.  '  But  where  shall 
the  factories  stand?  It  would  be  a  most  insane  and  outrageous  thing  to  place  them 
here,  amid  these  scenes  unparalleled  on  the  planet.  It  would  be  a  wholly  wanton 
sacrilege,  a    profanation    unusually   culpable,    because    entirely   unnecessary.      The 

119 


BELOW    THE    WHIRLPOOL 


Niagara  River  above  the  Falls  lies  so  high  above  all  the  country  below  them  that 
the  water  can  be  taken  almost  anywhere  from'  the  river  channel.  Only  a  very  small 
region  immediately  adjacent  to  the  cataract  and  the  rapids,  with  the  islands  in  the 
river — this  is  all  that  is  required  to  make  this  place,  or  keep  it  what  nature  made  it, 
a  place  endowed,  as  no  other  place  on  the  globe  is  endowed,  with  qualities  suited  to 
refresh,  elevate,  and  gladden  the  mind  and  heart  of  civilized  man  forever.  It  is  a 
sad  error  and  wrong  that  this  small  territory,  which  includes  all  that  is  essential  to 
Niagara, — all  its  wild  grace  and  ineffable  charm, — should  be  held  by  any  private 
or  individual  ownership.  It  should  be  the  property  of  the  State,  the  possession  of 
the  people,  and  should  be  held  in  trust  and  cared  for  by  the  government.  All  its 
wealth  of  beauty  and  of  high  uses  should  be  accessible  to  the  poorest  children  of 
toil  who  may,  by  wise  forethought  or  self-denying  frugality,  save  from  the  price  of 
their  labor  the  means  for  a  pilgrimage  to  this  shrine  of  ideal  and  spiritual  reality. 

For  we  must  have  something  besides  factories,  and  turbine  wheels,  and  supply 
and  demand,  and  daily  toil  for  daily  bread,  even  for  the  toiler  himself,  so  that  he 
may  have  "a  daily  beauty  in  his  life,"  to  use  Shakespeare's  phrase.  You  see,  gentle- 
men capitalists  and  manufacturers,  the  laborer  must  toil  happily,  or  you  may  all 
come  to  grief  together,  and  capital  must  supply  and  maintain  the  conditions  of  beauty 
and  happiness  for  him.  Labor,  directed  and  ennobled  by  the  ideal,  moral  or  spiritual 
element,  creates  everything;  but  a  democratic  civilization,  based  on  the  labor  of  a 
class  of  serfs  of  the  mine  and  mill,  whose  toil  is  unwilling,  degraded,  and  faithless, 
would  not  be  likely  to  endure  long  in  a  world  where  the  deepest  meaning  of  every- 
thing is  moral. 

Let  us  have  a  great  city  of  factories,  sustained  by  the  water-power  of  Niagara. 
We  are  destined  to  have  it.  It  is  entirely  right  that  this  immense  endowment  of 
mechanical  forces  for  the  use  of  mankind  should  be  employed  to  supply  their  physical 
wants.  Only  let  us  have  the  mills  a  little  at  one  side;  not  just  here  at  the  Falls. 
There  are  quite  as  good  and  even  better  sites  for  them  a  little  farther  away.  Put 
them  far  enough  back  from  the  Falls  and  the  Rapids  to  give  room  for  a  screen  of 
trees  between, — far  enough  for  the  distance  to  soften  the  clangor  of  steam  whistles, 
so  that  on  Sunday,  or  (as  I  observe  that  many  laborers  in  New  England  mills  have 
to  work  on  Sunday)  at  least  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  toiler  of  the  factory  may 
come  to  the  Falls,  and,  looking  upon  their  grandeur  and  noble  purity,  undefiled  by 
tawdry  electric  lights,  or  watching  the  wild  play  of  the  rapids,  or  wandering  amid 
the  solitudes  of  "the  forest  primeval"  on  Goat  Island,  may  feel  that  he  has  a  soul, 
and  is  not  a  mere  driven  beast  of  burden,  and  that  he  has  a  country  which  cares  for 
him  as  one  of  the  great  brotherhood  of  her  children. — Boston  Advertiser. 


120 


JIC^OSS   NIJlQJll^l   I^IVEI^ 


ThE  New  Michigan  CEntral  BridgE, 


A 


VERITABLE  marvel  of  engineering,  the  canti-lever  bridge  uniting  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  over  the  rushing  torrent  of  the  Niagara,  at  an  altitude 
of  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  ft.,  is  one  among  the  attractive  monuments 
evidencing  the  spirit  of  our  progressive  age,  and  the  advance  made  in  recent  years 
in  the  art  of  bridge-building.  In  less  than  eight  months,  from  the  time  of  beginning 
operations,  this  elegant  structure  has  been  reared — perfect  in  every  detail,  substantial, 
safe  and  firm  as  the  Rock  of  Ages! 

The  location  of  the  bridge,  a  short  distance  below  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  pre- 
cluding the  possibility  of  any  supports  in  the  center  of  the  stream,  which  at  this 
point  is  500  feet  from  shore  to  shore  at  the  water's  edge ;  and  the  construction  of  a 
suspension  bridge  being  unadvisable  on  account  of  the  very  great  expense  and 
interminable  time  involved,  and  also  the  inevitable  wave-motion  of  that  class  of 
structures  when  loads  are  moved  over  them,  necessitated  a  peculiar  manner  of  con- 
struction, and  a  style  different  from  that  of  any  bridge  already  constructed. 

The  design  is  what  is  known  as  the  canti-lever  bridge,  the  principle  of  which  is 
that  of  a  trussed  beam,  supported  at  or  near  its  centre,  with  the  arms  extending  each 
way,  and  one  end  anchored  or  counterweighed  to  provide  for  unequal  loading.  It 
is  in  practice  an  entirely  new  design,  no  other  bridge  as  yet  having  been  completed 
upon  this  principle. 

Each  end  is  made  up  of  a  section,  entirely  of  steel,  extending  from  the  shore 
nearly  half  way  over  the  chasm.  Each  section  is  supported  near  its  center  by 
a  strong  steel  tower,  from  which  extend  two  lever  arms,  one  reaching  the  rocky 
bluffs,  the  other  extending  over  the  river  175  feet  beyond  the  towers.  The  outer 
arm  having  no  support,  and  being  subject  like  the  other  to  the  weight  of  trains,  a 
counter-advantage  is  given  by  the  shore  arm  being  firmly  anchored  to  the  rocks  on 
the  shore.  The  towers  on  either  side  rise  from  the  water's  edge  ;  between  them  a 
clear  span  of  495  feet  over  the  river,  the  longest  double-track  truss  span  in  the  world. 
The  ends  of  the  canti-levers  reaching  on  each  side  395  feet  from  the  abutments,  leave 
a  gap  of  120  feet  filled  by  an  ordinary  truss  bridge  hung  from  the  ends  of  the  canti- 
levers. Here  provision  is  made  for  expansion  and  contraction  by  an  ingenious  arrange- 
ment between  the  ends  of  the  truss  bridge  and  of  the  canti-levers  allowing  the  ends 
to  move  freely  as  the  temperature  changes,  but  at  the  same  time  preserving  perfect 

122 


rigidity  against  side  pressure  from  the  wind.  There  are  no  guys  for  this  purpose,  as 
in  a  suspension  bridge,  but  the  structure  is  complete  within  itself.  The  total  length 
of  the  bridge  is  910  feet.  It  has  a  double  track  and  is  built  strong  enough  to  carry 
upon  each  track  at  the  same  time  a  freight  train  of  the  heaviest  kind  extending  the 
entire  length  of  the  bridge,  headed  by  two  "consolidation"  engines,  and  under  a  side 
pressure  of  thirty  pounds  per  square  foot,  which  pressure  is  produced  by  a  wind 
having  a  velocity  of  seventy-five  miles  per  hour,  and  even  then  will  be  strained  to 
only  one-fifth  of  its  ultimate  strength. 

The  foundations  rest  on  the  solid  rock;  four  blocks  of  most  substantial  masonry 
are  carried  up  fifty  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water  and  from  these  the  steel 
towers  supporting  the  canti-levers  rise  130  feet.  The  load  of  1,600  tons  that  come 
upon  each  pair  of  steel  columns  is  so  distributed  that  the  pressure  upon  the  founda- 
tion rocks  is  only  25  pounds  per  square  inch.  From  the  tower  foundations  up,  the 
whole  bridge  is  steel,  every  inch  of  which  was  subjected  to  the  most  rigid  tests  from 
the  time  it  left  the  ore  to  the  time  it  entered  the  structure. 

The  structure  has  very  much  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  truss  bridge,  but, 
in  view  of  the  conditions  and  surroundings,  very  different  in  the  manner  of  its 
erection.  The  towers  on  the  water's  edge  and  the  shore  arms  of  the  canti-levers 
have,  of  course,  been  erected  with  the  help  of  temporary  scaffoldings  and  a  resting 
point  on  tcrra-firma  and  the  superstructure  is  easily  put  in  place  from  the  shore  to 
the  steel  towers.  But  after  this  comes  the  difficult  portion  of  the  work,  i.  e.,  to  span 
the  495  feet  across  and  239  feet  above  a  roaring  river  whose  force  no  earthly  power 
can  stay.  No  temporary  structure  could  survive  a  moment,  and  here  the  skill  of  the 
engineer  came  in  to  baffle  nature  and  laugh  at  her  powers.  The  design  of  the  canti- 
lever is  such  that  after  the  shore  arm  is  completed  and  anchored,  the  river  arm  is 
built  out,  one  panel  or  section  at  a  time  by  means  of  great  traveling  derricks,  and 
self-sustaining  as  it  progresses.  After  one  panel  of  twenty-five  feet  is  built  and  has 
its  bracing  adjusted,  the  traveling  derrick  is  moved  forward  and  another  panel 
erected.  Thus  the  work  progresses,  section  by  section,  until  the  ends  of  the  canti- 
lever are  reached,  when  a  truss  bridge  is  swung  across  the  gap  of  120  feet,  resting 
on  the  ends  of  the  canti-lever  arms,  thus  forming  the  connecting  link.  This  great 
work  will  remain  for  ages  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  earnestness,  enterprise  and  energy 
of  the  Michigan  Central  management,  and  its  successful  completion  in  so  short  a 
time  reflects  great  credit  upon  the  advancement  of  American  engineering  and  the 
ability  and  skill  of  the  contractors  the  Central  Bridge  Works,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


1?   ■■»". 


123 


PI^OGI^KSS    OF   THE    WO^K. 


WORK  on  foundations  began  April  15th,  and  the  introduction  of  the  "  beton 
coignet"  began  June  6th  and  was  completed  June  20  on  the  American  side, and 
seven  days  later  on  the  Canada  side.  The  first  stone  for  the  piers  on  the  American 
side  was  laid  June  26,  and  on  the  Canada  side  July  13.  The  American  piers  were 
capped  August  20,  and  the  Canadian  September  3.  On  August  29  the  first  column 
of  steel  for  the  tower  was  lowered  on  the  American  side,  and  on  the  Canada  side 
September  10.  The  last  section  of  the  American  tower  had  been  laid  two  days  pre- 
vious, and  on  the  Canadian  tower  it  was  put  down  September  18.  On  the  24th  the 
first  iron  for  the  cantilever  was  run  out  and  both  cantilevers  were  completed  on  the 
17th  of  November.  Temporary  scaffoldings  of  timber  were  built  from  the  bluff  on 
either  side  out  to  the  edge  of  the  water  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  tower.  Upon 
these  the  shore-arms  of  the  canti  levers  were  erected,  one  end  resting  on  the  steel 
towers  and  the  other  upon  masonry  on  the  bluff.  The  shore  end  was  firmly  anchored 
to  this  masonry,  so  that  it  will  take  an  uplifting  force  of  1000  tons  at  each  end  to  dis- 
place it.  This  constitutes  the  counter-weight  to  balance  the  unequal  loading  on  the 
river  arm.  As  this,  under  the  most  unfavorable  conditions,  can  never  exceed  340 
tons,  the  provision  is  ample. 

There  will  not  be  any  of  that  wave  motion  noticed  on  a  suspension  bridge  as  a 
train  moves  over  it.  Remembering  that  it  took  over  three  years  to  build  the  present 
suspension  bridge  for  a  single  track,  that  this  bridge  for  a  double  track,  not  only 
had  to  be  finished  within  seven  and  a  half  months  from  the  execution  of  the  contract, 
but  has  been  actually  completed  with  eight  days  to  spare,  it  reflects  great  credit  upon 
the  advancement  of  American  engineering  skill,  as  exemplified  by  the  ability, 
capacity  and  skill  of  all  who  have  been  associated  with  the  project  in  positions  of 
responsibility.  400,000  feet  of  timber  and  fifteen  tons  of  bolts  were  consumed  in 
the  false  work.  The  piers  contain  1,100  cubic  yards  of  "beton  coignet,"  and  the 
abutments  of  the  approaches  1 ,000  cubic  yards  of  masonry.  The  traveling  derricks 
are  the  largest  yet  built.  They  are  calculated  to  sustain  a  weight  of  thirty-two  tons 
on  the  overhanging  arm,  and  project  forty  feet  beyond  any  support.  It  is  the  only 
bridge  of  any  magnitude  completed  upon  this  principle.  The  Firth  of  Forth  bridge 
in  Scotland,  with  a  clear  span  of  1,600  feet,  is  to  be  built  upon  this  plan,  and  also  in 
this  country  the  Fraser  River  bridge,  315  feet  clear  span,  on  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
These  are  the  only  examples  of  this  design  yet  undertaken,  but  the  principle  espe- 
cially recommends  itself  to  long  span  bridges  that  must  be  erected  without  false  work. 
The  total  weight  of  the  iron  and  steel  entering  into  the  composition  of  this 
massive  structure  is  about  3,000  tons.  The  excavations  were  carried  down  until 
solid  rock  was  reached,   when  blocks  of    "beton  coignet"   twenty   feet  wide  and 

124 


NOV.    14TH--AMERICAN     SlOE.  NOV.    t2TH--C*NAOA     StOG 

CANTILEVER  BRIDGE    AT    VARIOUS   STAGES   OF   CONSTRUCTION. 

125 


forty-five  feet  long-  and  ten  feet  thick  were  put  in.  These  form  one  single  mass 
capable  of  withstanding  a  pressure  almost  equal  to  the  best  Quincy  granite,  inter- 
locking with  the  boulders  in  sides  and  bottom  of  pit,  and  so  distributes  the  load  of 
i, 600  tons  that  comes  upon  each  pair  of  steel  columns  as  to  produce  a  pressure  on 
the  natural  formation  much  less  than  a  fashionable  young  lady  brings  upon  the  heel 
of  her  French  boot  every  time  she  steps.  The  total  weight  resting  on  each  of  the 
tower;  under  a  maximum  condition  of  strain  is  in  round  numbers  3,200  tons.  Each 
ingot  of  steel  was  submitted  to  a  chemical  analysis,  and  samples  to  a  mechanical  test. 
The  standard  of  excellence  adopted  was  more  severe  and  exacting  than  usual,  and 
all  steel  that  failed  to  meet  the  requirements  was  rejected. 

The  superstructure  was  designed  by  engineers  Schneider  and  Hayes.  General 
Field  gave  his  personal  attention  for  over  seven  months  to  all  of  the  many 
questions  connected  with  the  building  of  such  an  important  structure,  and  the  entire 
field  work  has  been  under  his  directions.  His  plans  have  been  ably  carried  out  by 
superintendent  of  erection,  S.  V.  Ryland,  assisted  by  foreman  A.  Deyo,  W.  A.  Lee  and 
Thos.  J.  Sullivan.  The  shop  organization  of  the  Central  Bridge  Works,  Mr.  R.  U. 
Wilson,  Supt.,  is  also  entitled  to  much  credit.  The  force  consists  of  about  160  men 
all  of  whom  have  seemed  to  take  a  personal  interest  in  the  great  work.  Mr.  Schnei- 
der's staff  consisted  of  A.  R.  True,  principal  assistant,  and  J.  A.  Bell  and  B.  F.  Betts, 
assistant  engineers,  W.  F.  Zimmermann,  inspector  of  material  at  the  mills,  and  J. 
Jung,  shop  inspector. 

On  the  morning  of  November  21,  1883,  the  work  of  putting  in  the  fixed  span 
began,  and  when  the  hour  of  noon  had  arrived  the  sections  had  been  connected,  and 
the  bridge  practically  completed.  The  weather  during  this  performance  was  very 
bad,  but  a  large  crowd  of  spectators,  which  included  ladies,  railroad  officials  and 
bridge  experts,  stood  patiently  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  rain  storm  and  interestedly 
watched  the  operation. 

In  the  afternoon  of  November  21,  the  Central  Bridge  Works  closed  their  shops 
and  the  entire  force,  under  charge  of  Suot.  Wilson,  visited  the  bridge,  their  employ- 
ers furnishing  free  transportation. 

The  capacity  of  their  works  and  the  ability  and  strength  of  their  organization, 
needs  no  better  monument  than  the  cantilever  bridge  they  have  just  completed, 
which,  for  novelty  and  excellence  of  design,  and  unprecedented  time  within  which 
a  work  of  this  magnitude  has  been  brought  to  successful  completion,  has  not  its 
equal  in  the  history  of  engineering  science. 

December  20th,  1883,  a  scientific  test,  under  direction  01  prominent  engineers 
took  place  in  the  presence  of  a  vast  concourse  of  spectators  from  all  sections  of  the 
United  States.  The  structure  was  pronounced  safe  as  the  safest,  substantial,  endur- 
ing and  firm,  a  real  triumph  of  engineering  skill,  management  and  enterprise. 


126 


fi  c& 


127 


OFFENBjTCH   ON   NIJIGJII^I. 


From  Notes  of  a  Travelling  Musician. 


l^tUCH  has  been  written  on  the  subject  of  this  wonderful  waterfall,  but  no 
one  has  yet  been  able  to  describe  the  impression  produced  by  the  sight 
of  the  great  stream  at  the  moment  when  it  leaps  headlong,  from  a  height 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  into  the  fathomless  abyss  beneath.  The  view  of  that 
vast  amphitheatre,  of  that  prodigious  volume  of  water,  breaking  into  foam,  with 
a  roar  of  thunder,  like  the  huge  tidal  wave  that  follows  an  earthquake,  made  me 
giddy,  and  caused  me  to  forget  all  I  had  ever  read,  all  I  had  ever  heard,  and 
all  that  had  ever  suggested  itself  to  my  imagination.  This  diluvial  torrent,  framed 
within  the  wildest  scenery,  surrounded  by  lofty  trees  of  the  deepest  green,  upon 
which  a  shower  of  spray  is  constantly  falling  like  perpetual  dew,  defies  photography, 
painting,  or  description.  In  order  to  describe,  there  must  be  some  point  of 
comparison.  To  what  can  Niagara  be  compared,  that  unrivalled,  everlasting 
phenomenon,  to  the  magnificence  of  which  we  can  never  become  accustomed! 

While  we  were  absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  this  wonder  — 

"  This  is  the  spot,"  said  our  guide,  "  where  an  Indian  met  with  his  fate  a 
fortnight  ago.  Carried  away  by  the  current,  the  slight  craft  that  held  him  was 
drawing  near  to  the  Falls,  notwithstanding  all  his  efforts.  The  Indian,  feeling  his 
strength  giving  way,  saw  that  he  was  lost.  He  ceased  to  struggle,  wrapped  himself 
up  in  his  red  blanket  as  in  a  shroud,  and  laid  himself  down  in  the  bottom  of  his 
boat.  A  few  seconds  after  he  was  on  the  crest  of  the  gigantic  wave,  and  was 
shot  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  into  this  watery  grave,  covered  with  a  mist  of 
immaculate  white." 

After  hearing  the  story  of  this  catastrophe,  so  fearful,  yet  so  grand,  I  could 
not  help  envying  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  red-skin,  and  I  wondered  that  all 
Americans  in  distress  did  not  prefer  the  Falls  of  Niagara  to  the  insipid  revolver. 
After  having  long  enjoyed  this  wonderful  spectacle,  I  crossed  the  bridge  and  set 
foot  on  Canadian  soil.  Here,  I  had  been  told,  I  would  see  Indians.  I  expected 
to  find  savages,  and  was  surprised  to  find  only  dealers  in  bric-a-brac.  They  were 
hideous,  I  confess;  they  looked  quite  ferocious,  I  admit  also:  but  I  doubt  whether 
they  were  genuine  Indians.  However  that  may  be,  they  surrounded  me  on  all 
sides,  offered  me  bamboos,  fans,  cigar-holders,  and  pocket-books  of  a  doubtful  taste. 
They  reminded  me  of  the  Indians  of  the  forest  of  Fontainebleau  who  sell  pen- 
holders and  paper-knives. 

Nevertheless,  I  made  a  few  purchases;  but  I  verily  believe  that  I  brought  back 
into  France  some  curiosities  which  had  been  procured  at  the  selling  out  of  some 
Parisian  bazar. 

128 


SPECULATIONS   OF   THE   SCIENTISTS. 


RETROCESSION  OF  THE  FJ1EES. 


SIR     CHARLES     LYEL1. 


WE  FIRST  came  in  sight  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara  when  they  were  about 
three  miles  distant.  The  sun  was  shining  full  upon  them — no  building  in 
view — nothing  but  the  green  wood,  the  falling  water  and  the  white  foam.  At  that 
moment  they  appeared  to  me  more  beautiful  than  I  had  expected,  and  less  grand; 
but  after  several  days,  when  I  had  enjoyed  a  nearer  view  of  the  two  cataracts,  had 
listened  to  their  thundering  sound,  and  gazed  on  them  for  hours  from  above  and 
below,  and  had  watched  the  river  foaming  over  the  rapids,  then  plunging  headlong 
into  the  dark  pool, — and  when  I  had  explored  the  delightful  island  which  divides 
the  falls,  where  the  solitude  of  the  ancient  forest  is  still  unbroken,  I  at  last  learned 
by  degrees  to  comprehend  the  wonders  of  the  scene,  and  to  feel  its  full  magnificence. 

Early  in  the  morning  after  our  arrival,  I  saw  from  the  window  of  our  hotel,  on 
the  American  side,  a  long  train  of  white  vapory  clouds  hanging  over  the  deep 
chasm  below  the  falls.  They  were  slightly  tinted  by  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun,  and 
blown  slowly  northwards  by  a  gentle  breeze  from  the  pool  below  the  cataract,  which 
was  itself  invisible  from  this  point  of  view.  No  fog  was  rising  from  the  ground,  the 
sky  was  clear  above;  and  as  the  day  advanced,  and  the  air  grew  warm,  the  vapors 
all  disappeared.  This  scene  reminded  me  of  my  first  view  of  Mount  Etna  from 
Catania,  when  I  saw  dense  volumes  of  steam  issuing  from  the  summit  of  the  highest 
crater  in  a  clear  blue  sky,  which,  at  the  height  of  more  than  two  miles  above  the 
sea,  assumed  at  once  the  usual  shape  and  hues  of  clouds  in  the  upper  atmosphere. 
These,  too,  vanished  before  noon,  as  soon  as  the  sun's  heat  increased. 

Etna  presents  us  not  merely  with  an  image  of  the  power  of  subterranean  heat, 
but  a  record  also  of  the  vast  period  of  time  during  which  that  power  has  been 
exerted.  A  majestic  mountain  has  been  produced  by  volcanic  action,  yet  the  time 
of  which  the  volcano  forms  the  register,  however  vast,  is  found  by  the  geologist  to 
be  of  inconsiderable  amount,  even  in  the  modern  annals  of  the  earth's  history.  In 
like  manner,  the  Falls  of  Niagara  teach  us  not  merely  to  appreciate  the  power  of 
moving  water,  but  furnish  us  at  the  same  time  with  data  for  estimating  the  enormous 
lapse  of  ages  during  which  that  force  has  operated.  A  deep  and  long  ravine  has 
been  excavated,  and  the  river  has  required   ages  to  accomplish  the  task,  yet  the 

129 


same  region  affords  evidence  that  the  sum  of  these  ages  is  as  nothing,  and  as  the 
work  of  yesterday,  when  compared  to  the  antecedent  periods,  of  which  there  are 
monuments  in  the  same  district. 

REDUCED    HEIGHT. 

It  has  long  been  the  popular  belief,  from  a  mere  cursory  inspection  of  this 
district,  that  the  Niagara  once  flowed  in  a  shallow  valley  across  the  whole  platform 
from  the  present  site  of  the  Falls  to  the  Oueenston  heights,  where  it  is  supposed  the 
cataract  was  first  situated,  and  that  the  river  has  been  slowly  eating  its  way  back- 
wards through  the  rocks  for  a  distance  of  seven  miles.  According  to  this  hypothesis, 
the  Falls  must  have  had  originally  nearly  twice  their  present  height,  and  must  have 
been  always  diminishing  in  grandeur  from  age  to  age,  as  they  will  continue  to  do  in 
future  so  long  as  the  retrograde  movement  is  prolonged.  It  becomes,  therefore,  a 
matter  of  no  small  curiosity  and  interest  to  inquire  at  what  rate  the  work  of  excava- 
tion is  now  going  on,  and  thus  to  obtain  a  measure  for  calculating  how  many 
thousands  of  years  or  centuries  have  been  required  to  hollow  out  the  chasm  already 
excavated. 

RECENT    PROOFS    OF    EROSION. 

It  is  an  ascertained  fact,  that  the  Falls  do  not  remain  absolutely  stationary  at 
the  same  point  of  space,  and  that  they  have  shifted  their  position  slightly  during  the 
last  half  century.  Every  observer  will  also  be  convinced  that  the  small  portion  of 
the  great  ravine,  which  has  been  eroded  within  the  memory  of  man,  is  so  precisely 
identical  in  character  with  the  whole  gorge  for  seven  miles  below,  that  the  river 
supplies  an  adequate  cause  for  executing  the  task  assigned  to  it,  provided  we  grant 
sufficient  time  for  its  completion.  The  waters,  after  cutting  through  strata  of  lime- 
stone, about  fifty  feet  thick  in  the  rapids,  descend  perpendicularly  at  the  Falls  over 
another  mass  of  limestone  about  ninety  feet  thick,  beneath  which  lie  soft  shales  of 
equal  thickness,  continually  undermined  by  the  action  of  the  spray  driven  violently 
by  gusts  of  wind  against  the  base  of  the  precipice.  In  consequence  of  this  disinte- 
gration, portions  of  the  incumbent  rock  are  left  unsupported,  and  tumble  down  from 
time  to  time,  so  that  the  cataract  is  made  to  recede   southwards.      Mr.   Bakewell 

* 

calculated  that,  in  the  forty  years  preceding  1830,  the  Niagara  had  been  going  back 
at  the  rate  of  about  a  yard  annually,  but  I  conceive  that  one  foot  per  year  would  be 
a  much  more  probable  conjecture,  in  which  case  35,000  years  would  have  been 
required  for  the  retreat  of  the  Falls  from  the  escarpment  of  Oueenston  to  their 
present  site,  if  we  could  assume  that  the  retrograde  movement  had  been  uniform 
throughout.  This,  however,  could  not  have  been  the  case,  as  at  every  step  in  the 
process  of  excavation  the  height  of  the  precipice,  the  hardness  of  the  materials  at 
its  base,  and  the  quantity  of  fallen  matter  to  be  removed,  must  have  varied.  At 
some  points  it  may  have  receded  much  faster  than  at  present,  at  others  much  slower, 

130 


and  it  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  decide  whether  its  average  progress  has  been 
more  or  less  rapid  than  now. 

REMNANTS    OF    AN    OLD    RIVER-BED. 

While  we  have  only  meagre  historical  data,  we  are  fortunately  not  without  geo- 
logical evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  a  channel  of  the  Niagara  at  a  much 
higher  level,  before  the  table-land  was  intersected  by  the  great  ravine.  Long  before 
my  visit  to  the  Niagara,  I  had  been  informed  of  the  existence  on  Goat  Island  of 
beds  of  gravel  and  sand  containing  fluviatile  shells,  and  some  account  had  been  given 
of  these  by  Mr.  Hall  in  his  first  report.  I  therefore  proposed  to  him  that  we  should 
examine  these  carefully,  and  see  if  we  could  trace  any  remnants  of  the  same  along 
the  edges  of  the  river-cliffs  below  the  Falls.  We  began  by  collecting  in  Goat 
Island  shells  of  the  genera  Unio,  Cyclas,  Melania,  Valvata,  Limnea,  Planorbis,  and 
Helix,  all  of  recent  species,  in  the  superficial  deposit.     They  form  regular  beds,  and 

side,  where  two 
river-terraces,  one 
twelve  and  the 
other  twenty-four 
feet  above  the 
Niagara,  have 
been  cut  in  the 
modern  deposits. 
In  these  we  ob- 
served the  same 
fossil  shells  as   in 


Section  at  Niagara  Falls. 

L.    Limestone  80  feet  thick, 

S.     Shale  SO  feet  thick. 

d.    Freshwater  Strata  on  Goat  Island,  above  20  feet  thick. 

rf'.    Same  formation  on  the  American  side,  containing  bones  of  Mastodon. 

e  .    Ledge  of  bare  limestone  on  the  Canada  side. 

/.    Ancient  drift 


numerous  individ- 
uals of  the  Unio 
and  Cyclas  have 
both  their  valves 
united.  We  then 
found  the  same  for- 
mation exactly  op- 
posite to  the  Falls 
on  the  top  of  the 
cliff  (at  d\  fig.  I.) 
on   the    American 

Goat  Island,  and  learned  that  the  teeth  and  other  remains  of  a  mastodon,  some  of 
which  were  shown  us,  had  been  found  thirteen  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  soil. 
We  were  then  taken  by  our  guide  to  a  spot  farther  north,  where  similar  gravel  and 
sand  with  fluviatile  shells  occurred  near  the  edge  of  the  cliff  overhanging  the  ravine, 
resting  on  the  solid  limestone.  It  was  about  half  a  mile  below  the  principal  Fall, 
and  extended  at  some  points  300  yards  inland,  but  no  farther,  for  it  was  then 
bounded  by  the  bank  of  more  ancient  drift  (/,  fig.  1).  This  deposit  precisely 
occupies  the  place  which  the  ancient  bed  and  alluvial  plain  of  the  Niagara  would 
naturally  have  filled,  if  the  river  once  extended  farther  northwards,  at  a  level  suffi- 
ciently high  to  cover  the  greater  part  of  Goat  Island.  At  that  period  the  ravine 
could  not  have  existed,  and  there  must  have  been  a  barrier,  several  miles  lower 
down,  at  or  near  the  whirlpool. 

The  supposed  original  channel,  through  which  the  waters  flowed  from  Lake 
Erie  to  Oueenston  or  Lewiston,  was  excavated  chiefly,  but  not  entirely,  in  the 
superficial  drift,  and  the  old  river-banks  cut  in  this  drift  are  still  to  be  seen  facing 

131 


each  other,  on  both  sides  of  the  ravine,  for  many  miles  below  the  Falls.  A  section 
of  Goat  Island  from  south  to  north,  or  parallel  to  the  course  of  the  Niagara  (fig.  2), 
shows  that  the  limestone  (B)  had  been  greatly  denuded  before  the  fluviatile  beds  (c) 
were  accumulated,  and  consequently  when  the  Falls  were  still  several  miles  below 
their  present  site.      From  this   fact  I  infer  that  the   slope  of  the  river  at  the  rapids 


was  principally  due 
to  the  original  shape 
of  the  old  channel, 
and  not,  as  some 
have  conjectured,  to 
modern  erosions  on 
the  approach  of  the 
Falls  to  the  spot. 
The  observations 
made  in  1841  in- 
escaped  destruction. 


FIGURE  2. 


Section  of  Goat  Island  from  North  to  South,  2,500  feet  in  length. 

A.  Massive  compact  portion  of  the  Niagara  limestone. 

B.  Upper  thin-bedded  portion  of  the  Niagara  limestone,  strata  slightly 

inclined  to  the  south. 
c.    Horizontal  freshwater  beds  of  gravel,  sand,  and  loam,  with  shells. 
D.  E.    Present  surface  of  the  river  Niagara  at  the  Rapids. 


duced  me  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  re- 
examine diligently 
both  sides  of  the 
river  from  the  Falls 
to  Lewiston  and 
Oueenston,  to  ascer- 
tain if  any  other 
patches  of  the  an- 
cient  river-bed  had 


Accordingly,  following  first  the  edge  of  the  cliffs  on  the 
eastern  bank,  I  discovered,  with  no  small  delight,  at  the  summer-house  (E,  fig.  3), 
above  the  whirlpool,  a  bed  of  stratified  sand  and  gravel,  forty  feet  thick,  containing 
fluviatile  shells  in  abundance.  Fortunately,  a  few  yards  from  the  summer-house  a 
pit  had  been  recently  dug  for  the  cellar  of  a  new  house  to  the  depth  of  nine  feet  in 
the  shelly  sand,  in  which  I  found  shells  of  the  genera  Unio,  Cyclas,  Melania,  Helix, 
and  Pupa,  not  only  identical  in  species  with  those  which  occur  in  a  fresh  state  in  the 


bed  of  the  Niagara,  r 
near  the  ferry,  but 
corresponding  also 
in  the  proportionate 
number  of  individ- 
uals belonging  to 
each  species,  that  of 
Cyclas  similis,  for 
example,  being  the 
most  numerous.  The 
same  year  I  found 
also  a  remnant  of 
the  old  river-bed  on 
the  opposite  or  Ca- 


Section  at  the  Summer-house  above  Whirlpool,  east  bank 
of  Niagara. 
A.    Thick-bedded  limestone,  same  as  at  Falls. 
b.     Ancient  drift. 

r.    Boulders  at  base  of  steep  bank  formed  by  drift. 
d.    Freshwater  strata  forty  feet  thick. 
E.  Summer-house. 


nadian  side  of  the 
river,  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  above  the 
whirlpool,  or  two 
miles  and  a  half  be- 
low the  Falls.  These 
facts  appear  conclu- 
sive as  to  the  former 
extension  of  a  more 
elevated  valley,  four 
miles,  at  least,  below 
the  Falls;  and  at  this 
point  the  old  river- 
bed must  have  been 


so  high  as  to  be  capable  of  holding  back  the  waters  which  covered  all  the  patches 
of  fluviatile  sand  and  gravel,  including  that  of  Goat  Island.  As  the  table-land  or 
limestone-platform  rises  gently  to  the  north,  and  is  highest  near  Oueenston,  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  there  was  a  greater  fall  in  the  Niagara  when  it  flowed 


132 


at  its  higher  level,  than  now  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Falls;  and  according  to  this 
view,  the  old  channel  might  well  have  furnished  the  required  barrier. 

I  have  stated  that  on  the  left,  or  Canadian  bank  of  the  Niagara,  below  the  Falls, 
I  succeeded  in  detecting  sand  with  freshwater  shells  at  one  point  only,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  muddy  river.  The  ledge  of  limestone  on  this  side  is  usually  laid  bare, 
or  only  covered  by  vegetable  mould  (as  at  <?,  fig.  i),  until  we  arrive  at  the  boulder 
clay  (/,  fig.  i),  which  is  sometimes  within  a  few  yards  of  the  top  of  the  precipice, 
and  sometimes  again  retires  eighty  yards  or  more  from  it,  being  from  twenty  to  fifty 
feet  in  height.  I  also  found  an  old  river-bed  running  through  the  drift  parallel  to 
the  Niagara,  its  course  still  marked  by  swamps  and  ponds,  such  as  we  find  in  all 
alluvial  plains,  and  only  remarkable  here  because  the  river  now  runs  at  a  lower  level 
by  300  feet.  This  deserted  channel  occurs  between  the  Muddy  River  and  the 
Whirlpool,  and  is  1 00  yards  broad. 

THE    DEVILS    HOLE. 

There  is  also  a  notch  or  indentation,  called  the  "Devil's  Hole,"  on  the  right  or 
eastern  side  of  the  Niagara,  half  a  mile  below  the  Whirlpool,  which  deserves  notice, 
for  there,  I  think,  there  are  signs  of  the  Great  Cataract  having  been  once  situated 
A  small  streamlet,  called  the  "Bloody  Run,"  from  a  battle  fought  there  with  the 
Indians,  joins  the  Niagara  at  this  place,  and  has  hollowed  out  a  lateral  chasm. 
Ascending  the  great  ravine,  we  here  see,  facing  us,  a  projecting  cliff  ot  limestone, 
which  stands  out  forty  feet  beyond  the  general  range  of  the  river  cliff  below,  and 
has  its  flat  summit  bare  and  without  soil,  just  as  if  it  had  once  formed  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Great  Fall. 

RECESSION. 

By  exploring  the  banks  of  the  Niagara  above  the  Falls,  I  satisfied  myself  that 
if  the  river  should  continue  to  cut  back  the  ravine  still  farther  southwards,  it  would 
leave  here  and  there,  near  the  verge  of  the  precipice  and  on  its  islands,  strata  of 
sand  and  loam,  with  freshwater  shells  similar  to  those  already  described.  I  collected 
fossil  shells,  for  example,  on  the  left  bank,  near  the  Chippewa  River,  and  learnt  that 
others  had  been  reached,  in  sinking  a  well,  in  18 18,  at  the  south-east  end  of  Grand 
Island.     The  situation  of  such  deposits  is  represented  at  a,  a  (fig.  4). 

The  patches  of  fluviatile  strata,  therefore,  occurring  between  the  old  banks  of 
drift  (/,  f,  fig.  1 )  and  the  precipice,  and  not  having  been  met  with  on  other  parts 
of  the  platform  at  a  distance  from  the  Niagara,  confirm  tin-  theory,  previously 
adopted  on  independent  evidence,  of  the  recession  of  the  Falls  from  Queenston 
southwards.  The  narrowness  of  the  gorge  near  Queenston,  where  it  is  just  large 
enough  to  contain  the  rapid  current  of  water,  accords  well  with  the  same  hypothesis, 
and  there  is  no  ground  for  suspecting  that  the  excavation  was  assisted  by  an  original 
rent  in  the  rocks,  because  there  is  no  fissure  at  present  in  the  limestone  at  the  Falls, 
where  the  moving  waters  alone  have  power  to  cut  their  way  backwards. 

133 


I  have  already  remarked  that  there  will  always  be  insuperable  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  estimating  with  precision  the  rate  of  the  retrogression  of  the  Falls  in  former 
ages,  because  at  every  step  new  strata  have  been  successively  exposed  at  the  base  of 
the  precipice.  According  to  their  softer  or  harder  nature,  the  undermining  process 
must  have  been  accelerated  or  retarded.  This  will  be  understood  by  reference  to 
the  annexed  section  (fig.  4),  where  the  line  5,  c,  d,  represents  the  present  surface  of 
the  river  along  which  the  Falls  have  receded.  The  strata  (1,3  and  7),  are  of  soft 
materials;  the  others  (2,  4  and  8),  which  slightly  project  at  their  termination  in  the 
escarpment,  are  of  a  more  compact  and  refractory  kind.  It  has  been  necessary  to 
exaggerate  the  southward  dip  of  the  strata  in  this  diagram,  which  is  in  reality  so 
slight  as  to  be  insensible  to  the  eye,  being  only,  as  before  mentioned,  about  twenty- 
five  feet  in  a  mile,  the  river  channel  sloping  in  an  opposite  direction  at  the  rate  of 
fifteen  feet  in  a  mile.  These  two  inclinations,  taken  together,  have  caused,  as  Mr. 
Hall  has  pointed  out  in  his  Survey,  a  diminution  of  forty  feet  in  the  perpendicular 
height  of  the  Falls  for  every  mile  that  they  receded  southward.  By  reference  to  the 
section,  the  reader  will  perceive  that  when  they  were  situated  at  the  Whirlpool  (c) 
the  quartzose  sandstone  (2),  wjaich  is  extremely  hard,  was  at  the  base  of  the  preci- 
pice, and  here  the  Great  Cataract  may  have  remained  nearly  stationary  for  ages. 


North, 


Lewiston 


FIGURE  4. 
Niagara  Falls 


Section  of  the  Slrata  along  the  Niagara  River,  from  Lake  Ontario  to  Lake  Erie.— (Chiefly  from  Hall's  Report 

on  the  Geology  of  New  York. 


Red  shaly  sandstone  aDd  marl,  seen  in  the  bank  of  the  river 
at  Le«iston,  and  extending  to  Lake  Ontario. 

Grey  quartzose  sandstone. 

Red  shaly  sandstone  like  No.  l,(with  thin  courses  of  sand- 
stone near  the  top.  1 

G-eyand  mottled  sandstone,  constituting  with  those  below, 
the  Medina  sandstone. 

A  thin  mass  of  green  shale. 

Compact  grey  limestone,  which,  with  No.  5,  constitutes  the 
Clinton  group  at  this  place. 

Soft  argillo-calcareous  shale.    Niagara  shale. 

Limestone— compact  and  geodiferous.    Niagara  limestone. 

The  upper  thin-bedded  portion  of  the  Niagara  limestone. 

Onondaga  salt  group,  including  the  hydraulic  limestone,  or 
beds  of  passage  to  the  next  rock. 

Onondaga  and  Corniterous  limestones,  being  all  the  lime- 
stones of  the  Helderberg  division  which  continue  so  far 
westward. 


a,  a.    A  fluviatile  deposit  in  the  depression  smith  of  the  Rapids, 

probably  similar  to  the  fluviatile  deposit  of  Goat  Island. 

b,  c,  d,f,  g,  h.    The  dotted  hue  represents  the  present  surface  of 

the  river  from  Lewiston  to  Lake  Erie. 

The  perpendicular  fall,  over  the  Niagara  limestone  and  shale. 

The  Rapids,  fifty-two  feet,  over  the  upper  thin-bedded  por- 
tion of  the  Niagara  limestone. 

The  Whirlpool. 

The  position  of  the  Falls  and  Rapids  after  a  recession  of 
two  miles. 

Note.  The  fainter  lines  indicate  that  portion  of  the  rocks  which 
has  been  already  cut  through  by  the  Niagara. 

The  superficial  drift  or  boulder  formation  is  not  represented 

in  this  section. 
Length  of  section  from  north  to  south  about  twenty-eight 

miles. 


f.9- 


i,  k. 


FUTURE    RETROCESSION. 

In  regard  to  the  future  retrocession  of  the  Falls,  it  will  be  perceived  by  the 
same  section  (fig.  4),  that  when  they  have  traveled  back  two  miles,  or  to  /,  k,  the 
massive  limestone  (8),  now  at  the  top  of  the  Falls,  will  then  be  at  their  base;  and  its 
great  hardness  may,  perhaps,  effectually  stop  the  excavating  process,  if  it  should 
not  have  been  previously  arrested  by  the  descent  of  large  masses  of  the  same  rock 
from  the  cliff  above.     It  will  also  appear  that  the  Falls  will  continually  diminish  in 

134 


height,  and  should  they  ever  reach   Lake  Erie,  they  will  intersect  entirely  different 
strata  from  those  over  which  they  are  now  thrown. 

ORIGIN    OF    THE    FALLS. 

The  next  inquiry  into  which  we  are  naturally  led  by  our  retrospect  into  the  past 
history  of  this  region,  relates  to  the  origin  of  the  Falls.  If  they  were  once  seven 
miles  northward  of  their  present  site,  in  what  manner,  and  at  what  geological  period, 
did  they  first  come  into  existence?  In  tracing  back  the  series  of  past  events,  we 
have  already  seen  that  the  last  change  was  the  erosion  of  the  great  ravine;  previously 
to  which  occurred  the  deposition  of  the  freshwater  deposit,  including  fossil  shells  yf 
recent  species,  and  the  bones  of  the  Mastodon.  Thirdly,  of  still  older  date  was  the 
drift  or  boulder  formation  which  overspreads  the  whole  platform  and  the  face  of  the 
escarpment  near  Oueenston,  as  well  as  the  low  country  between  it  and  Lake  Ontario. 
Fourthly,  the  denudation  of  the  line  of  cliff  or  escarpment,  in  which  the  table-land 
ends  abruptly,  preceded  the  origin  of  the  drift.  This  drift  was  of  marine  origin, 
and  formed  when  the  whole  country  was  submerged  beneath  the  sea.  In  the  region 
of  the  Niagara  it  is  stratified,  and  though  no  fossils  have  as  yet  been  detected  in  it, 
similar  deposits  occur  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  at  Montreal,  at  a  height 
nearly  equal  to  Lake  Erie,  where  fossil  shells,  of  species  such  as  now  inhabit  the 
northern  seas,  lie  buried  in  the  drift 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  affirm  that  a  consideration  of  the  geology  of  the 
whole  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  great  lakes  can  alone  entitle  us  to  speculate 
on  the  state  of  things  which  immediately  preceded  or  accompanied  the  origin  of  the 
Great  Cataract.  To  give  even  a  brief  sketch  of  the  various  phenomena  to  which 
our  attention  must  be  directed,  in  order  to  solve  this  curious  problem,  would  require 
a  digression  of  several  chapters.  At  present  the  shortest  and  most  intelligible  way 
of  explaining  the  results  of  my  observations  and  reflections  on  this  subject  will  be 
to  describe  the  successive  changes  in  the  order  in  which  I  imagine  them  to  have 
happened.  The  first  event  then  to  which  we  must  recur  is  the  superficial  waste  or 
denudation  of  the  older  stratified  rocks  (from  i  to  10  inclusive,  section,  fig.  4),  all  ol 
which  had  remained  nearly  undisturbed  and  horizontal  from  the  era  of  their  forma- 
tion beneath  the  sea  to  a  comparatively  modern  period.  That  they  were  all  of 
marine  origin  is  proved  by  their  imbedded  corals  and  shells.  They  at  length 
emerged  slowly,  and  portions  of  their  edges  were  removed  by  the  action  of  the 
waves  and  currents,  by  which  cliffs  were  formed  at  successive  heights,  especially 
where  hard  limestones  (such  as  Nos.  10  and  8,  fig.  4),  at  Blackrock  and  Lewiston, 
were  incumbent  on  soft  shales.  After  this  denudation  the  whole  region  was  again 
gradually  submerged,  and  this  event  took  place  during  the  glacial  period,  at  which 
time  the  surfaces  of  the  rocks  already  denuded  were  smoothed,  polished,  and 
furrowed   by  glacial   action,  which   operated  successively  at  different   levels.     The 


country  was  then  buried  under  a  load  of  stratified  and  unstratified  sand,  gravel  and 
erratic  blocks,  occasionally  80,  and  in  some  hollows  more  than  300,  feet  deep.  An 
old  ravine  terminating  at  St.  David's,  which  intersects  the  limestone  platform  of  the 
Niagara,  and  opens  into  the  great  escarpment,  illustrates  the  posteriority  of  this 
drift  to  the  epoch  when  the  older  rocks  were  denuded.  The  period  of  submergence 
last  alluded  to  was  very  modern,  for  the  shells  then  inhabiting  the  ocean  belonged, 
almost  without  exception,  to  species  still  living  in  high  northern,  and  some  of  them 
in  temperate,  latitudes.  The  next  great  change  was  the  re-emergence  of  this  country, 
consisting  of  the  ancient  denuded  rocks,  covered  indiscriminately  with  modern  marine 
drift.  The  upward  movement  by  which  this  was  accomplished  was  not  sudden  and 
instantaneous,  but  gradual  and  intermittent.  The  pauses  by  which  it  was  interrupted 
are  marked  by  ancient  beach-lines,  ridges,  and  terraces,  found  at  different  heights 
above  the  present  lakes.  These  ridges  and  terraces  are  partly  due  to  the  denuda- 
tion and  re-arrangement  of  the  materials  of  the  drift  itself,  which  had  previously  been 
deposited  on  the  platform,  the  sloping  face  of  the  escarpments,  and  in  the  basins  of 
the  great  lakes. 

As  soon  as  the  table-land  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  emerged  and  was 
laid  dry,  the  river  Niagara  came  into  existence,  the  basin  of  Lake  Ontario  still 
continuing  to  form  part  of  the  sea .  From  that  moment  there  was  a  cascade  at 
Oueenston  of  moderate  height,  which  fell  directly  into  the  sea.  The  uppermost 
limestone  and  subjacent  slate  (8  and  7,  fig.  4)  being  exposed,  the  cataract  commenced 
its  retrograde  course,  while  the  lower  beds  in  the  escarpment  (from  6  to  1)  were  still 
protected  from  waste  by  remaining  submerged.  A  seco:id  fall  would  in  due  time  be 
caused  by  the  continued  rise  of  the  land  and  the  exposure  of  the  hard  beds  (6  and  4), 
constituting  what  is  called  the  Clinton  group,  together  with  the  soft  and  easily  under- 
mined red  shale  (3)  on  which  they  repose.  Finally,  a  third  cascade  would  in  all 
likelihood  be  produced  by  the  rise  of  another  hard  mass,  the  quartzose  sandstone 
(2,  fig.  4),  resting  on  very  destructible  red  shale  (4).  Three  falls,  One  above  the 
other,  very  similar  in  their  geological  and  geographical  position  to  those  actually 
seen  on  the  river  Genesee,  at  Rochester,  would  thus  be  formed.  The  recession  of 
the  uppermost  must  have  been  gradually  retarded  by  the  thickening  of  the  incumbent 
limestone  (No.  8,  fig.  4),  in  proportion  as  the  falls  sawed  their  way  southwards.  By 
this  means  the  second  cataract,  which  would  not  suffer  the  same  retardation,  might 
overtake  it,  and  the  two  united  would  then  be  retarded  by  the  large  quantity  of  rock 
to  be  removed,  until  the  lowest  fall  would  come  up  to  them,  and  then  the  whole 
would  be  united  into  one. 

LAPSE    OF    TIME. 

The  principal  events  enumerated  in  the  above  retrospect,  comprising  the  sub- 
mergence and  re-emergence  of  the  Canadian  lake  district  and  valley  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  deposition  of  freshwater  strata,  and  the  gradual  erosion  of  a  ravine 

136 


seven  miles  long,  are  all  so  modern  in  the  earth's  history  as  to  belong  to  a  period 
when  the  marine,  the  fluviatile,  and  terrestrial  shells  were  the  same,  or  nearly 
the  same,  as  those  now  living.  Yet  if  we  fix  our  thoughts  on  any  one  portion  of 
this  period — on  the  lapse  of  time,  for  example,  required  for  the  recession  of  the 
Niagara  from  the  escarpment  to  the  Falls, — how  immeasurably  great  will  its  duration 
appear  in  comparison  with  the  sum  of  years  to  which  the  annals  of  the  human  race 
are  limited!  Had  we  happened  to  discover  strata,  charged  with  fluviatile  shells  of 
recent  species,  and  enclosing  the  bones  and  teeth  of  a  Mastodon,  near  a  river  at  the 
bottom  of  some  valley,  we  might  naturally  have  inferred  that  the  buried  quadruped 
had  perished  at  an  era  long  after  the  canoes  of  the  Indian  hunter  had  navigated  the 
North  American  waters.  Such  an  inference  might  easily  have  been  drawn  respecting 
the  fossil  tusks  of  the  great  elephantine  quadruped,  which  I  saw  taken  out  of  the 
shell-marl  on  the  banks  of  the  Genesee  River  near  Rochester.  But  fortunately  on 
the  Niagara,  we  may  turn  to  the  deep  ravine,  and  behold  therein  a  chronometer 
measuring  rudely,  yet  emphatically,  the  vast  magnitude  of  the  interval  •  of  years, 
which  separates  the  present  time  from  the  epoch  when  the  Niagara  flowed  at  a 
higher  level  several  miles  further  north  across  the  platform.  We  then  became 
conscious  how  far  the  two  events  before  confounded  together, — the  entombment  of 
the  Mastodon,  and  the  date  of  the  first  peopling  of  the  earth  by  man, — may  recede 
to  distances  almost  indefinitely  remote  from  each  other. 

But,  however  much  we  may  enlarge  our  ideas  of  the  time  which  has  elapsed 
since  the  Niagara  first  began  to  drain  the  waters  of  the  upper  lakes,  we  have  seen 
that  this  period  was  one  only  of  a  series,  all  belonging  to  the  present  zoological 
epoch;  or  that  in  which  the  living  testaceous  fauna,  whether  freshwater  or  marine, 
had  already  come  into  being.  If  such  events  can  take  place  while  the  zoology  of 
the  earth  remains  almost  stationary  and  unaltered,  what  ages  may  not  be  compre- 
hended in  those  successive  tertiary  periods  during  which  the  Flora  and  Fauna  of  the 
globe  have  been  almost  entirely  changed!  Yet  how  subordinate  a  place  in  the  long 
calendar  of  geological  chronology  do  the  successive  tertiary  periods  themselves 
occupy!  How  much  more  enormous  a  duration  must  we  assign  to  many  antecedent 
revolutions  of  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants!  No  analogy  can  be  found  in  the  natural 
world  to  the  immense  scale  of  these  divisions  of  past  time,  unless  we  contemplate 
the  celestial  spaces,  which  have  been  measured  by  the  astronomer.  Some  of  the 
nearest  of  these  within  the  limits  of  the  solar  system,  as,  for  example,  the  orbits  of 
the  planets,  are  reckoned  by  hundreds  of  millions  of  miles,  which  the  imagination 
in  vain  endeavors  to  grasp.  Yet  one  of  these  spaces,  such  as  the  diameter  of  the 
earth's  orbit,  is  regarded  as  a  mere  unit,  a  mere  infinitesimal  fraction  of  the  distance 
which  separates  our  sun  from  the  nearest  star. 

By  pursuing  still  farther  the  same  investigations,  we  learn  that  there  are  lumin- 
ous clouds  scarcely  distinguishable  by  the  naked  eye,  but  resolvable  by  the  telescope 

138 


into  clusters  of  stars,  which  are  so  much  more  remote,  that  the  interval  between  our 
sun  and  Sirius  may  be  but  a  fraction  of  this  larger  distance.  To  regions  of  space 
of  this  higher  order  in  point  of  magnitude,  we  may  probably  compare  such  an 
interval  of  time  as  that  which  divides  the  human  epoch  from  the  origin  of  the  coral- 
line limestone  over  which  the  Niagara  is  precipitated  at  the  Falls.  Many  have  been 
the  successive  revolutions  in  organic  life,  and  many  the  vicissitudes  in  the  physical 
geography  of  the  globe,  and  often  has  sea  been  converted  into  land,  and  land  into 
sea,  since  that  rock  was  formed.  The  Alps,  the  Pyrenees,  the  Himalaya,  have  not 
only  begun  to  exist  as  lofty  mountain  chains,  but  the  solid  materials  of  which  they 
are  composed  have  been  slowly  elaborated  beneath  the  sea  within  the  stupendous 
interval  of  ages  here  alluded  to. 

The  geologist  may  muse  and  speculate  on  these  events  until,  filled  with  awe 
and  admiration,  he  forgets  the  presence  of  the  mighty  cataract  itself,  and  no  longer 
sees  the  rapid  motion  of  its  waters,  nor  hears  their  sound,  as  they  fall  into  the  deep 
abyss.  But  whenever  his  thoughts  are  recalled  to  the  present,  the  tone  of  his  mind, 
— the  sensations  awakened  in  his  soul,  will  be  found  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with 
the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  glorious  scene  which  surrounds  him. 


THE   DEVIL'S    HOLE. 


139 


PijlST     fIND     FUTURE, 


PRDFESSDH    TYND-H.LL. 


WE  HAVE  now  to  consider  the  genesis  and  proximate  destiny  of  the  Falls  of 
Niagara.  We  may  open  our  way  to  this  subject  by  a  few  preliminary  remarks 
upon  erosion.  Time  and  intensity  are  the  main  factors  of  geological  change,  and 
they  are  in  a  certain  sense  convertible.  A  feeble  force  acting  through  long  periods, 
and  an  intense  force  acting  through  short  ones,  may  produce  approximately  the 
same  results.  To  Dr.  Hooker  I  have  been  indebted  for  some  samples  of  stones, 
the  first  examples  of  which  were  picked  up  by  Mr.  Hackworth  on  the  shores  of 
Lyell's  Bay,  near  Wellington,  in  New  Zealand.  They  have  been  described  by  Mr. 
Travers  in  the  Transactions  of  the  New  Zealand  Institute.  Unacquainted  with  their 
origin,  you  would  certainly  ascribe  their  forms  to  human  workmanship.  They 
resemble  flint  knives  and  spear-heads,  being  apparently  chiseled  off  into  faces  with 
as  much  attention  to  symmetry  as  if  a  tool  guided  by  human  intelligence  had  passed 
over  them.  But  no  human  instrument  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  these  stones. 
The)-  have,  been  wrought  into  their  present  shape  by  the  wind-blown  sand  of  Lyell's 
Bay.  Two  winds  are  dominant  here,  and  they  in  succession  urged  the  sand  against 
opposite  sides  of  the  stone;  every  little  particle  of  sand  chipped  away  its  infinitesi- 
mal bit  of  stone,  and  yi  the  end  sculptured  these  singular  forms. 

EFFECTS    OF    THE    SAND    BLAST. 

The  Sphinx  of  Egypt  is  nearly  covered  up  by  the  sand  of  the  desert.  The 
neck  of  the  Sphinx  is  partly  cut  across,  not,  as  I  am  assured  by  Mr.  Huxley,  by 
ordinary  weathering,  but  by  the  eroding  action  of  the  fine  sand  blown  against  it. 
In  these  cases  nature  furnishes  us  with  hints  which  may  be  taken  advantage  of  in 
art;  and  this  action  of  sand  has  recently  been  turned  to  extraordinary  account  in  the 
United  States.  When  in  Boston,  I  was  taken  by  Mr.  Josiah  Ouincy  to  see  the 
action  of  the  sand-blast.  A  kind  of  hopper  containing  fine  silicious  sand  was  con- 
nected with  a  reservoir  of  compressed  air,  the  pressure  being  variable  at  pleasure. 
The  hopper  ended  in  a  long  slit,  from  which  the  sand  was  blown.  A  plate  of  glass 
was  placed  beneath  this  slit,  and  caused  to  pass  slowly  under  it;  it  came  out  perfectly 
depolished,  with  a  bright  opalescent  glimmer,  such  as  could  only  be  produced  by 
the  most  careful  grinding.  Every  little  particle  of  sand  urged  against  the  glass, 
having  all  its  energy  concentrated  on  the  point  of  impact,  formed  there  a  little  pit,  the 
depolished  surface  consisting  of  innumerable  hollows  of  this  description.  But  this 
was  not  all.  By  protecting  certain  portions  of  the  surface  and  exposing  others, 
figures  and  tracery  of  any  required  form  could  be  etched  upon  the  glass.  The 
figures  of  open  iron-work  could  thus  be  copied,  while  the  wire-gauze  placed  over 

110 


the  glass  produced  a  reticulated  pattern.  But  it  required  no  such  resisting-  substance 
as  iron  to  shelter  the  glass.  The  patterns  of  the  finest  lace  could  thus  be  repro- 
duced; the  delicate  filaments  of  the  lace  itself  offering  a  sufficient  protection. 

All  these  effects  have  been  obtained  with  a  simple  model  of  the  sand-blast 
devised  for  me  by  my  assistant.  A  fraction  of  a  minute  suffices  to  etch  upon  glass 
a  rich  and  beautiful  lace  pattern.  Any  yielding  substance  may  be  employed  to 
protect  the  glass.  By  immediately  diffusing  the  shock  of  the  particle,  such  sub- 
stances practically  destroy  the  local  erosive  power.  The  hand  can  bear  without 
inconvenience  a  sand-shower  which  would  pulverize  glass.  Etchings  executed  on 
glass  with  suitable  kinds  of  ink  are  accurately  worked  out  by  the  sand-blast.  In 
fact,  within  certain  limits,  the  harder  the  surface,  the  greater  is  the  concentration  of 
the  shock,  and  the  more  effectual  is  the  erosion.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  sand 
should  be  the  harder  substance  of  the  two;  corundum,  for  example,  is  much  harder 
than  quartz;  still,  quartz-sand  can  not  only  demolish,  but  actually  blow  a  hole  through 
a  plate  of  corundum.  Nay,  glass  may  be  depolished  by  the  impact  of  fine  shot;  the 
grains  in  this  case  bruising  the  glass  before  they  have  time  to  flatten  and  turn  their 
energy  into  heat. 

EROSIVE    POWER    OF    RIVERS. 

This  power  of  erosion,  so  strikingly  displayed  when  sand  is  urged  by  air, 
renders  us  better  able  to  conceive  its  action  when  urged  by  water.  The  erosive 
power  of  a  river  is  vastly  augmented  by  the  solid  matter  carried  along  with  it. 
Sand  or  pebbles  caught  in  a  river  vortex  can  wear  away  the  hardest  rock;  "pot- 
holes" and  deep  cylindrical  shafts  being  thus  produced.  An  extraordinary  instance 
of  this  kind  of  erosion  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Val  Tournanche,  above  the  village  of  this 
name.  The  gorge  at  Handeck  has  been  thus  cut  out.  Such  waterfalls  were  once 
frequent  in  the  valleys  of  Switzerland;  for  hardly  any  valley  is  without  one  or  more 
transverse  barriers  of  resisting  material,  over  which  the  river  flowing  through  the 
valley  once  fell  as  a  cataract.  Near  Pontresina  in  the  Engadin,  there  is  such  a  case, 
the  hard  gneiss  being  now  worn  away  to  form  a  gorge  through  which  the  river  from 
the  Morteratsch  glacier  rushes.  The  barrier  of  the  Kirchet  above  Meyringen  is  also 
a  case  in  point.  Behind  it  was  a  lake,  derived  from  the  glacier  of  the  Aar,  and  over 
the  barrier  the  lake  poured  its  excess  of  water.  Here  the  rock  being  limestone  was 
in  great  part  dissolved,  but  added  to  this  we  had  the  action  of  the  solid  particles 
carried  along  by  the  water,  each  of  which,  as  it  struck  the  rock,  chipped  it  away  like 
the  particles  of  the  sand-blast.  Thus  by  solution  and  mechanical  erosion  the  great 
chasm  of  the  Fensteraar-Schlucht  was  formed.  It  is  demonstrable  that  the  water 
which  flows  at  the  bottom  of  such  deep  fissures  once  flowed  at  the  level  of  what  is 
now  their  edges,  and  tumbled  down  the  lower  faces  of  the  barriers.  Almost  every 
valley  in  Switzerland  furnishes  examples  of  this  kind;  the  untenable  hypothesis  of 
earthquakes,  once  so  readily  resorted  in  accounting  for  these  gorges,  being  now  for 

141 


the  most  part  abandoned.     To  produce  the  Canyons  of  Western  America  no  other 
cause  is  needed  than  the  integration  of  effects  individually  infinitesimal 

ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  CATARACT. 

And  now  we  come  to  Niagara.  Soon  after  Europeans  had  taken  possession  of 
the  country,  the  conviction  appears  to  have  arisen  that  the  deep  channel  of  the  river 
Niagara  below  the  falls  had  been  excavated  by  the  cataract.  In  Mr.  Bakewell's 
"Introduction  to  Geology,"  the  prevalence  of  this  belief  has  been  referred  to;  it  is 
expressed  thus  by  Prof.  Joseph  Henry  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Albany  Institute: 
"In  viewing  the  position  of  the  falls  and  the  features  of  the  country  round,  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  be  impressed  with  the  idea  that  this  great  natural  raceway  has  been 
formed  by  the  continued  action  of  the  irresistible  Niagara,  and  that  the  falls,  begin- 
ning at  Lewiston,  have,  in  the  course  of  ages,  worn  back  the  rocky  strata  to  their 
present  site."  The  same  view  is  advocated  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  by  Mr.  Hall, 
by  M.  Agassiz,  by  Prof.  Ramsay,  indeed  by  almost  all  of  those  who  have  inspected 
the  place. 

A  connected  image  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  cataract  is  easily  obtained. 
Walking  northward  from  the  village  of  Niagara  Falls  by  the  side  of  the  river,  we 
have  to  our  left  the  deep  and  comparatively  narrow  gorge  through  which  the  Niagara 
flows.  The  bounding  cliffs  of  this  gorge  are  from  300  to  350  feet  high.  We  reach 
the  whirlpool,  trend  to  the  northeast,  and  after  a  little  time  gradually  resume  our 
northward  course.  Finally,  at  a  about  seven  miles  from  the  present  Falls,  we  come 
to  the  edge  of  a  declivity  which  informs  us  that  we  have  been  hitherto  walking  on 
table-land.  Some  hundreds  of  feet  below  us  is  a  comparatively  level  plain,  which 
stretches  to  Lake  Ontario.  The  declivity  marks  the  end  of  the  precipitous  gorge  of 
the  Niagara.  Here  the  river  escapes  from  its  steep  mural  boundaries,  and  in  a 
widened  bed  pursues  its  way  to  the  lake  which  finally  receives  its  waters. 

IN   THE    PAST. 

The  fact  that  in  historic  times,  even  within  the  memory  of  man,  the  fall  has 
sensibly  receded,  prompts  the  question,  how  far  has  recession  gone?  At  what  point 
did  the  ledge  which  thus  continually  creeps  backwards  begin  its  retrograde  course? 
To  minds  disciplined  in  such  researches  the  answer  has  been  and  will  be,  at  the 
precipitous  declivity  which  crossed  the  Niagara  from  Lewiston  on  the  American  to 
Queenston  on  the  Canadian  side.  Over  this  transverse  barrier  the  united  affluents 
oi  all  the  upper  lakes  once  poured  their  waters,  and  here  the  work  of  erosion  began. 
The  dam,  moreover,  was  demonstrably  of  sufficient  height  to  cause  the  river  above  it 
to  submerge  Goat  Island  ;  and  this  would  perfectly  account  for  the  finding  by  Mr. 
Hall,  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  and  others,  in  the  sand  and  gravel  of  the  island,  the  same 
tluviatile  shells  as  are  now  found  in  the  Niagara  river  higher  up.  It  would  also 
account  for  those    deposits    along  the  sides  of  the  river,  the  discovery  of  which 


enabled  Lyell,  Hall,  and   Ramsay  to  reduce  to  demonstation  the  popular  belief  that 
the  Niagara  once  flowed  through  a  shallow  valley. 

The  physics  of  the  problem  of  excavation,  which  1  made  clear  to  my  mind 
before  quitting  Niagara,  are  revealed  by  a  close  inspection  of  the  present  Horse- 
Shoe  Fall.  Here  we  see  evidently  that  the  greatest  weight  of  water  bends  over  the 
very  apex  of  the  Horse- Shoe.  In  a  passage  in  his  excellent  chapter  on  Niagara 
Falls,  Mr.  Hall  alludes  to  this  fact.  Here  we  have  the  most  copious  and  the  most 
violent  whirling  of  the  shattered  liquid;  here  the  most  powerful  eddies  recoil 
against  the  shale.  From  this  portion  of  the  fall,  indeed,  the  spray  sometimes  rises 
without  solution  of  continuity  to  the  region  of  the  clouds,  becoming  gradually  more 
attenuated,  and  passing  finally  through  the  condition  of  true  cloud  into  invisible 
vapor,  which  is  sometimes  reprecipitated  higher  up.  All  the  phenomena  point 
distinctly  to  the  centre  of  the  river  as  the  place  of  greatest  mechanical  energy,  and 
from  the  centre  the  vigor  of  the  Fall  gradually  dies  away  towards  the  sides.  The 
horse-shoe  form,  with  the  concavity  facing  downwards,  is  an  obvious  and  necessary 
consequence  of  this  action.  Right  along  the  middle  of  the  river  the  apex  of  the 
curve  pushes  its  way  backwards,  cutting  along  the  centre  a  deep  and  comparatively 
narrow  groove,  and  draining  the  sides  as  it  passes  them.  Hence  the  remarkable 
discrepancy  between  the  widths  of  the  Niagara  above  and  below  the  Horse- Shoe. 
All  along  its  course,  from  Lewiston  Heights  to  its  present  position,  the  form  of  the 
Fall  was  probably  that  of  a  horse-shoe,  for  this  is  merely  the  expression  of  the 
greater  depth,  and  consequently  greater  excavating  power,  of  the  centre  of  the 
river.  The  gorge,  moreover,  varies  in  width  as  the  depth  of  the  centre  of  the  ancient 
river  varied,  being  narrowest  where  that  depth  was  greatest. 

EROSIVE    POWER    OF    THE    HORSE-SHOE    FALL. 

The  vast  comparative  erosive  energy  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  comes  strikingly 
into  view  when  it  and  the  American  Fall  are  compared  together.  The  American 
branch  of  the  upper  river  is  cut  at  a  right  angle  by  the  gorge  of  the  Niagara.  Here 
the  Horse-Shoe  Fall  was  the  real  excavator.  It  cut  the  rock  and  formed  the  preci- 
pice over  which  the  American  Fall  tumbles.  But  since  its  formation,  the  erosive 
action  of  the  American  Fall  has  been  almost  nil,  while  the  Horse-Shoe  has  cut  its  way 
for  five  hundred  yards  across  the  end  of  Goat  Island,  and  is  doubling  back  to  excavate 
a  channel  parallel  to  the  length  of  the  island.  This  point,  I  have  just  learned,  has 
not  escaped  the  acute  observation  of  Prof.  Ramsay,  whose  words  are: — "Where  the 
body  of  water  is  small  in  the  American  Fall,  the  edge  has  only  receded  a  few  yards 
(where  most  eroded)  during  the  time  that  the  Canadian  Fall  has  receded  from  the 
north  corner  of  Goat  Island  to  the  inner-most  curve  of  the  Horse  Shoe  Fall."  The 
river  bends;  the  Horse-Shoe  immediately  accommodates  itself  to  the  bending,  and 
will  follow  implicitly  the  direction  of  the  deepest  water  in  the  upper  stream.  The 
flexibility  of  the  gorge,  if  I  may  use  the  term,  is  determined  by  the  flexibility  of  the 


river  channel  above  it.  Were  the  Niagara  above  the  Fall  sinuous,  the  2"orgfe  would 
obediently  follow  its  sinuosities.  Once  suggested,  no  doubt  geographers  will  be 
able  to  point  out  many  examples  of  this  action.  The  Zambesi  is  thought  to  present 
a  great  difficulty  to  the  erosion  theory,  because  of  the  sinuosity  of  the  chasm  below 
the  Victoria  Falls.  But  assuming  the  basalt  to  be  of  tolerably  uniform  texture,  had 
the  river  been  examined  before  the  formation  of  this  sinuous  channel,  the  present 
zigzag  course  of  the  gorge  below  the  Fall  could,  I  am  persuaded,  have  been  predicted 
while  the  sounding  of  the  present  river  would  enable  us  to  predict  the  course  to  be 
pursued  by  the  erosion  in  the  future. 

But  not  only  has  the  Niagara  river  cut  the  gorge;  it  has  carried  away  the  chips 
of  its  own  workshop.  The  shale  being  probably  crumpled  is  easily  carried  away.  But 
at  the  base  of  the  fall  we  find  the  huge  boulders  already  described,  and  by  some 
means  or  other  these  are  removed  down  the  river.  The  ice  which  fills  the  gorge  in 
winter,  and  which  grapples  with  the  boulders,  has  been  regarded  as  the  transporting 
agent.  Probably  it  is  so  to  some  extent.  But  erosion  acts  without  ceasing  on  the 
abutting  points  of  the  boulders,  thus  withdrawing  their  support  and  urging  them 
gradually  down  the  river.  Solution  also  does  its  portion  of  the  work.  That  solid 
matter  is  carried  down  is  proved  by  the  difference  of  depth  between  the  Niagara 
river  and  Lake  Ontario,  where  the  river  enters  it.  The  depth  falls  from  seventy-two 
feet  to  twenty  feet,  in  consequence  of  the  deposition  of  solid  matter  caused  by  the 
diminished  motion  of  the  river. 

THE    FUTURE. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  say  a  word  regarding  the  proximate  future  of  Niagara. 
At  the  rate  of  excavation  assigned  to  it  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  namely,  a  foot  a  year, 
five  thousand  years  or  so  will  carry  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall  far  higher  than  Goat  Island. 
As  the  gorge  recedes  it  will  drain,  as  it  has  hitherto  done,  the  banks  right  and  left  of 
it,  thus  leaving  a  nearly  level  terrace  between  Goat  Island  and  the  edge  of  the  gorge. 
Higher  up  it  will  totally  drain  the  American  branch  of  the  river;  the  channel  of 
which  in  due  time  will  become  cultivable  land.  The  American  Fall  will  then  be 
transformed  into  a  dry  precipice,  forming  a  simple  continuation  of  the  cliffy  boundary 
of  the  Niagara.  At  the  place  occupied  by  the  fall  at  this  moment  we  shall  have  the 
gorge  enclosing  a  right  angle,  a  second  whirlpool  being  the  consequence  of  this.  To 
those  who  visit  Niagara  a  few  millenniums  hence  I  leave  the  verification  of  this 
prediction.  All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  if  the  causes  now  in  action  continue  to  act, 
it  will  prove  itself  literally  true. 


114 


145 


GI^ITUITOUS   JISSEl^TIONS. 


J.    M.    EUNCfiN, 


HE  FALLS  of  Niagara  are  among  those  phenomena  in  the  external  world, 
from  which  speculatists  have  spun  a  cobweb  theory  of  the  earth,  proving  or 
intended  to  prove 

"That  he   who  made  it,  and  revealed  its  date 
To  Moses,  was  mistaken  in  its  age." 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  from  the  aspect  of  the  banks,  and  the  character  of 
the  surrounding  country  above  and  below  the  Falls,  that  the  river  has  at  some  former 
period  scooped  out  the  channel,  through  the  solid  limestone,  from  Oueenston,  about 
seven  miles  below,  to  the  position  of  the  cataracts.  Below  Queenston,  the  ground 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  is  very  nearly  of  the  same  level  with  the  banks  of  lake 
Ontario,  but  at  that  town  it  rises  with  a  sudden  and  steep  slope  crossing  the  river  at 
right  angles  to  its  channel,  and  continuing  gradually  to  increase  in  elevation,  till  it 
attains  to  the  height  of  lake  Erie.  At  Oueenston  the  inner  surface  of  the  banks  first 
becomes  precipitous  and  broken;  and  mineralogists  of  whose  accuracy  and  fidelity 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  have  ascertained,  by  minute  inspection,  that  the  strata,  (lime- 
stone above,  and  sandstone  below,  with  forty  feet  interposing  of  exceedingly  friable 
slate,)  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  river  correspond  exactly  writh  each  other,  and 
scarcely  vary  to  the  situation  of  the  present  Falls.  From  these  premises  it  has  been 
concluded,  that  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  formerly  ran  down  the  face  of  the  heights 
of  Oueenston, — that  the  rocky  material  at  last  gave  way  under  the  continued  attrition, 
and  that  the  cataract  gradually  worked  its  way  backward,  till  it  separated  into  two 
at  the  present  position.  Not  only  so,  but  that  this  process  has  continued  with  the 
most  unvarying  regularity,  accomplishing  very  nearly  the  same  number  of  inches  in 
the  same  space  of  time.  This  backward  motion  however,  if  any  such  there  be,  is  at 
present  amazingly  slow,  and  it  is  therefore  decided,  with  unhesitating  certainty  and 
coolness,  that  the  world  must  have  existed,  and  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  have  been 
<t  work,  for  a  much  larger  period  than  six  thousand  years. 

With  the  same  facility  of  hypothesis  and  assertion,  they  have  decided  upon  its 
future  as  easily  as  upon  its  past  operations.  It  is  inevitably  certain,  we  are  assured, 
that  it  will  gradually  saw  its  way  twenty  miles  farther  and  drain  lake  Erie,  and  going 
backward  three  hundred  miles,  take  up  its  temporary  residence  below  Detroit.  It  is 
needless  for  us  at  present  to  pursue  it  any  farther. 

But  if  we  grant,  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  water  from  lake  Erie  first  made 
a  breach  in  Oueenston  heights,  these  theorists  cannot  refuse,  that  there  must  have 


been  a  previous  time  when  no  breach  as  yet  existed.  If  so,  where  then  was  the 
outlet  of  lake  Erie?  By  what  channel  did  the  waters  of  the  great  chain  of  western 
lakes,  above  Ontario,  find  a  passage  to  the  ocean?  If  these  lakes  did  not  then  exist, 
and  if  they  and  their  outlet  were  the  simultaneous  result  of  some  mighty  terraqueous 
convulsion,  may  it  not  be  as  reasonably  concluded  that  the  whole  channel  of  the 
Niagara,  from  the  present  Falls  to  Oueenston,  was  ploughed  out  by  the  same  revo- 
lutionizing struggle — and  that  in  place  of  being  the  operation  of  thousands  of  years, 
it  may  have  been  the  work  of  a  month  or  perhaps  of  a  day?  Upon  this  supposition 
it  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  present  position  of  the  Falls;  below  them  the 
channel  is  comparatively  narrow  and  confined,  and  the  current  must  have  raged,  as 
indeed  it  still  does,  with  much  more  fury  and  effect  than  where  it  is  less  pent  up. 
At  the  Falls  it  is  divided  by  an  island  into  two  arms,  each  wider  than  the  channel 
below;  and  farther  up  it  is  diffused  over  a  still  more  ample  surface,  peacefully  winding 
round  islands  of  various  sizes,  or  smoothly  expanding  into  a  kind  of  bay.  Within 
the  semicircular  outline  also  of  the  present  Falls,  a  kind  of  basin  is  embraced,  in 
which  the  water  foams  and  whirls  in  great  agitation,  but  in  which  it  has  space  to 
subside  into  smoothness  before  breaking  on  the  bank;  and  it  is  comparatively  tran- 
quil at  a  short  distance  below. 

In  a  word,  the  assertions  which  have  been  made  respecting  the  gradual  retro- 
cession of  the  Falls,  seem  to  be  altogether  gratuitous.  It  is  possible  that  some 
partial  change  may  take  place  in  the  outline  of  the  great  Fall;  some  piece  of  rock 
may  give  way,  as  was  the  case  in  the  bank  below,  but  there  seems  not  the  slightest 
reason  to  believe,  either  that  the  change  has  hitherto  been  incessant  and  gradual,  or 
that  it  will  hereafter  be  so.  The  earliest  accounts  which  were  given  of  them  by 
European  writers  are  obviously  and  grossly  fabulous,  describing  them  as  seven  or 
eight  hundred  feet  high,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  broad;  but  the  first  which  were 
at  all  authentic  correspond  remarkably,  at  the  distance  of  a  century,  with  the  present 
aspect  of  the  cataracts. 

The  measurement  of  the  Falls  has  been  variously  stated.  The  Horse-Shoe- 
Fall  may  be  stated  at  about  150  feet  in  height;  its  width  can  only  be  approximated, 
but  following  the  curve  it  is  generally  estimated  at  about  2,000  feet.  However,  it 
has  but  a  remote  resemblance  to  that  which  gives  it  its  name;  it  forms  an  irregular 
segment  of  a  circle,  with  a  very  deep  angular  gash  near  the  center.  In  this  gap  the 
water  glides  over  the  edge  of  the  rock  with  most  crystalline  smoothness,  while  at 
either  extremity  it  breaks  into  snow-white  foam  at  the  very  edge.  The  American 
Fall  is  about  1,100  feet  in  extreme  width.  Its  height  is  165  feet.  The  brow  of 
Goat  Island  is  about  980  feet  in  breadth.  The  whole  extent  therefore  of  the  concave, 
from  the  farther  extremity  of  the  American  Fall  to  the  Table  Rock,  following  the 
line  of  the  cataracts  is,  according  to  this  calculation,  very  nearly  4,000  feet. 


147 


148 


NIJIGJII^l   FflliliS,   ONTJII^IO, 


OjS^HIS  VILLAGE,  formerly  knoAvn  as  Clifton,  extends  along  the  Canada 
^J  i  shore  of  Niagara  River,  from  the  Upper-Rapids  at  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  to 
<f  the  railroad  Suspension  bridge,  a  distance  of  over  two  miles.  The  most 
interesting  portion  of  the  village  lies  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Falls,  and  a 
beautiful  prospect  can  be  enjoyed  at  almost  any  point  on  Main  street,  the  only  street 
along  the  river  bank  upon  which  buildings  are  erected.  The  Canada  shore  can 
claim  one  point  over  all  other  localities  around  the  Falls,  in  being  the  only  place,  at 


the  traveling  public,  and 
from  the  gentlemanly 
agents  in  charge,  every 
one  can  feel  sure  to  receive 
courteous  replies  and  most 
reliable  information.  The 
tourist,  wishing  to  select 
a  temporary  abiding  place 
on  the  Canada  side, will  find 
several  well-kept  hotels,  at 
prices  varying  according  to 
accommodations  desired. 
The  largest  and  most  com- 
modious of  these  is  the 
Clifton  House,  which  has 
been  open  to  the  public  for 
more  than  forty  years,  and 
has  an  established  repu- 
tation. The  Prospect 
House  is  almost  on  the 
verg-e  of  the  Falls  being- 
located  at  Table  Rock. 
The  Brunswick  House,  located  midway  between  the  houses  above  mentioned, 
immediately  opposite  the  Center  Fall,  furnishes  a  pleasant  stopping  place,  with  all 
its  appointments  complete,  and  well  calculated  to  promote  the  comfort  of  its  patrons. 
It  is  indeed  a  desirable  stopping  j)lace,  the  terms  being  moderate  and  the  fare  ex- 
cellent. It  has  ever  been  the  aim  of  M.  Kick,  its  present  proprietor,  to  keep  a  first- 
class  hotel,  suited  to  the  needs  of  visitors  desirous  of  witnessing  the  grand  spectacle 
of  Niagara  without  incurring  heavy  expenses,  and  as  such,  "The  Brunswick"  has 
fully  established  its  right  to  be  regarded  as  a  success.     Seeing  is  believing 

150 


present,  where  a  good  view 
of  the  Cataract  can  be  had 
without  the  payment  of 
admittance  fees.  It  is,  how- 
ever, hoped  that  the 
creation  of  the  Interna- 
tional Park  may  take  place 
at  an  early  date,  and 
secure  similar  privileges 
on  the  American  side. 
From  Niagara  Falls 
station,  the  omnibuses  and 
carriages  of  the  Michigan 
Central  Transfer  Company 
convey  passengers  to  any 
point  on  the  Canadian  or 
American  side,  at  the  rate 
of  fifty  cents  for  each 
passenger  and  usual 
amount  of  bag^ag-e.  This 
Company  has  been  organ- 
ized for  the  protection   of 


YIliliJlGK  OF   NIfIGJIF$I   FjmiiS,   N.  V. 


Dn  the  ilmerican  Side 


rt[X  HE  VI  LL  AGE  of  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  was  incorporated  on  July  6th,  1848, 
J^  and  contains  to-day  a  population  of  nearly  four  thousand  inhabitants.  Jt 
boasts  of  several  hotels,  lar^e  stores,  churches  to  the  number  of  six,  and  has 
one  of  the  largest  paper  mills  in  the  State  of  New  York.  The  main  business  street 
of  the  village  is  Falls  street,  on  which  may  be  found  hardware,  dry  goods,  and 
almost  all  the  business  of  the  place;  the  post-office  is  located  about  the  center  of  the 
street,  and  at  its  foot  may  be  seen  a  Soldier's  Monument.  In  summer  time  the 
streets  present  quite  an  animated  appearance;  they  are  broad  and  well  kept,  and 
abound  in  fine  shade  trees;  especially  may  this  be  said  of  First  street,  on  which  four 
churches  are  situated  in  close  proximity  to  each  other.     Buffalo  street  contains  some 

fine    residences. 
The  hotels  are 
prominent  features 
of  the  place. 
The     Cataract 
House,  dates  its  ex- 
istence back  to  the  year 
[825.      It  is  a  handsome 
building,  possessing  all  the 
modern   improvements,   eligibly  located 
on  the  very  bank  of  the  river,   over  the  Rapids, 
above  the  Falls,  and  receives  liberal  patronage  from 
the  most  opulent  guests.     It  is,   in  every  respect,  a  first-class  hotel. 

The  International  Hotel  has  accommodation  for  600  guests.  It  is  a  mammoth 
fire-proof  building,  and,  borrowing  a  quotation  from  a  Niagara  Guide  Book,  "  its 
conveniences  are  not  intended  for  the  use  of  the  poorest  of  Niagara's  visitors." 

The  Hotel  Kaltenbach,  located  within  a  few 
steps  east  of  the  Cataract  House,  and  in  full  view 
of  the  American  Rapids,  can  be  classed  as  one  of  the 
fine  hotels  at  the  Falls.  A  neater,  cosier,  pleasanter, 
and  more  home-like  abiding  place  cannot  be  found 
anywhere.  The  building  is  a  new,  handsome  three- 
story  brick  structure,  after  the  gothic  style,  and 
contains  thirty  sleeping-rooms.     This  house  has  put 

151 


RURAL    SCENE    FROM   THE    HEIGHTS 


in  practice  a  feature  worth)  of  imitation  at  summer  resorts,  and  specially  at  Niagara 
Falls.  Its  rates  are  posted  upon  the  door  of  each  room — $3.00  per  day — and  are 
uniform  to  all  comers.  Mr.  Kaltenbach  deserves  much  from  the  traveling  public, 
and  it  is  only  to  be  regretted  that  the  limited  size  of  the  building  does  not  permit 
the  entertainment  of  hundreds  of  daily  visitors.  The  "Kaltenbach"  is  open  summer 
and  winter.  It  commands  the  enviable  patronage  of  the  best  class  of  tourists. 
The  Spencer  House  is  conveniently  situated  opposite  the  New  York  Central 


depot.  It  is  kept  open  the 
year  around,  and  ranks 
among-  the  best   hotels  at 


Niagara. 


The    Niagara 


House  is  largely  patronized 
by  commercial  travelers  and 
tourists.  It  possesses  com- 
fortable appointments  with 
pleasant  surroundings.  It  is 
open  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  The  Goat  Island 
House,  situated  at  the  Island 
bridge  entrance,  at  the  edge 
of  the  Rapids,  offers  also 
good  inducements  to  visitors 
The  Pacific  Hotel  ranks 
among  the  good  hotels  of 
the  place  and  is  kept  open 
during  the  entire  year. 
Other  Hotels  there  are  on 
this  side,  of  which  the  limits 
of  this  work  forbid   even   a 


mention.  The  press  is  well 
represented  by  the  Daily 
and  Weekly  Gazette,  under 
the  management  of  Peter  A. 
Porter.  To-day,  Niagara 
Falls  is  popularly  known  as 
a  fashionable  and  inviting 
place  of  resort,  only.  The 
town  of  the  future,  however, 
is  destined  to  be  ranged 
among  the  most  important 
of  our  manufacturing  marts. 
The  immense  water-power, 
which  can  be  utilized  so 
easily,  has  begun  to  attract 
the  attention  of  capitalists. 
The  projected  International 
Park  will  contribute  materi- 
ally to  the  industrial  advance- 
ment and  progress  of  the 
town,  its  object  being  not 
to  drive  away  manufacturers, 


but  simply  to  exclude  them  from  the  immediate  proximity  of  the  cataract. 

The  much  abused  and  villified  Niagara  hackman  is,  of  course,  one  of  the  promin- 
ent features  of  the  street.  To  him  might  properly  apply  the  description  of  "Bill 
Warnick,"  the  hackman  of  the  Indianapolis  Herald. 


He  alius  kept  his  eyes  ahead 

Whichever  way  he  went. 
He  was  up  in  his  profession — he 

Could  buzz  a  passenger 
Successful  half  a  square,  right  through 

The  winder  of  a  kyer, 
And  he  knowed  the  human  way  so  well, 

He  never  missed  a  fit 
When  it  came  to  making  charges 

And  securin'  his  perkisit. 


152 


2 — .  P  [RCASE    AT   TABLE    ROCK.  3.      SUSPE1 

-BRIDGE   TO   MOSS   ISLAND.  S—  AMERICAN    RAPIDS. 

153 


I^ETI^OSPEGT, 


L.     EE1TILLE. 


H  E  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  order  to  visit  the 
great  and  wonderful  Falls  of  Niagara,  it  was  still  a  venturesome 
nterprise  to  make  a  path  through  the  mazes  of  the  unfrequented 
ilderness  which  served  them  as  a  shield  and  frame.     To-day  all 
is  is  vastly  changed,  and    the  annual   tide    of  visitors    setting 
toward  these   famous  falls  seems  as  ample  as  their  floods.       In 
the  double  silence  of  night  and  of  the  virgin  forest,  it  was  doubt- 
ess  possible,  as  the  writers  of  a  preceding  generation  assure  us, 
to  hear  the  dull  roar  of  the  cataract  ten  miles  away,  but  to- 
day the  hissing  of  steam-engines  which  rush  over  the  water 
and  glide  over  the  land  in  every  direction,  the  sound  of  the 


foro-es,  the  shouts  and  vociferations  of  the  carters  and  coachmen, 
and  the  numberless  and  incessant  cries  and  clamors  which  rise  from 
the  farm-houses,  shops  and  villas  which  line  the  river  banks,  form 
a  concert  in  which  the  voice  of  the  flood  at  a  distance  is  lost  like 
that  of  an  artist  in  the  orchestra  of  an  imperial  academy  of  music. 
And,  besides,  on  the  American  side,  a  city — a  real  city,  under  the 
name  of  a  village — has  sprung  up,  with  long,  straight,  broad  streets, 
and  six  churches,  and  a  dozen  elegant  hotels,  on  the  rocky  shell 
over  which  the  river  leaps.  The  primeval  forest,  the  virgin 
solitude  has  been  metamorphosed  into  gardens  laid  out  with  more 
or  less  taste,  into  lawns  carpeted  with  well-kept  velvet  turf,  and 
beds  filled  with  rare  flowers.  And  the  shops,  saw  mills,  and  paper 
mills  established  near  the  falls,  driven  by  water  taken  from  them 
and  devoted  to  the  service  of  industry,  reminds  one  involuntarily  of 
Pegasus  entangled  in  vulgar  harness  and  subjected  to  the  switch 
of  the  jockey  or  the  whip  of  the  carter.  For  the  rest,  simple  souls 
who  are  still  moved  by  nature,  by  the  sacred  poetry  of  the  earth,  may  congratulate 
themselves  that  they  can  see  Niagara  even  as  it  is,  for  if  it  had  entered  into  the 
head  of  some  enterprising  speculator,  to  divide  and  sub-divide  it,  to  parcel  it  out 
into  park  ponds  and  puddles,  garden  fountains,  or  even  globes  for  gold-fish,  he 
might  have  done  that  also. 

154 


A    BRIEF    GUIDE 


Niagara  Falls  and  Vicinity. 


COMPILED    FROM    PILGRIMS'    NOTES. 


READER,  the  pilgrim  stands  entranced  and  lingers  on  the  platform  at 
the  station  of  Falls  View,  on  the  Canada  side.  He  hesitates  to  advance 
farther  in  his  explorations,  in  fear  of  destroying  the  deeply-rooted  impres- 
sions left  upon  all  his  senses  at  the  first  sight  of  that  wondrous  vision 
^°^—  of  Niagara,  which  defies  at  once  description  and  analysis,  and  excites  by 
turns,  ideas  of  grandeur,  beauty,  terror,  power,  sublimity.  But  remembering  his 
bounden  duty  to  you,  he  wends  his  way,  leisurely,  to  the  little  Canadian  village  lying 
immediately  under  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  soon  reaches  the  river  bank. 

GENERAL  View. — From  the  bank  just  below  the  Clifton  House  there  is  a  fine  panoramic 
view  of  both  Falls.  The  larger  cataract  stretching  from  shore  to  shore  is  the  Canadian 
or  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  whilst  the  smaller  one  is  the  American.  This  view  embraces  the 
entire  contour  of  the  Cataract  from  the  northern  point  of  the  American  Fall  to  the 
Canadian  shore  at  Table-Rock. 

American  Falls — Front  View. — A  few  steps  further,  and  from-a  small  platform  on  the 
ledge  opposite  the  Brunswick  House,  there  is  a  most  interesting  front  view  of  the  Amer- 
ican and  Center  Falls.  The  Rapids  above,  the  church  spires  of  the  American  village 
showing  through  the  trees,  the  islands  in  the  river,  the  rocks  at  the  foot  of  the  Falls 
upon  which  the  descending  torrent  breaks  into  spray,  all  contribute  to  the  magnificence 
of  the  picture. 

TABLE  Rock  exists  only  in  name,  and  in  the  interest  which  attaches  to  its  site.  It  was  a 
truly  magnificent  crag,  overhanging  the  fearful  abyss,  and  it  constituted  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  place.  The  overhanging  Table  fell  in  1850,  and  its  remains  stand 
in  a  huge  mass  of  rock  at  the  edge  of  the  river  below  the  bank.  It  extends  along  the 
bank  to  the  very  junction  with  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall,  and  the  view  from  it  is  full  of 
sublimity. 

Horse-Shoe  Fall. — Here  we  are  at  the  edge  of  the  famous  Cataract.  The  pencil  nor  the 
pen  can  do  justice  to  the  scene.  The  silent  and  still  picture  wants  the  motion  and  the 
sound  of  that  stupendous  rush  of  waters.  An  ever-rising  column  of  spray,  crowned 
with  prismatic  glory,  spires  upward  from  the  foaming  gulf  below.  This  spectacle  alone 
is  worth  a  pilgrimage  of  several  thousand  miles  to  see.  The  depth  of  the  water  in  the 
center  is  more  than  20  feet,  as  proven  by  an  experiment  made  with  the  unseaworthy 
vessel,  "  Michigan,"  sent  over  the  Falls  in  1827. 

This  Fall  is  iQOOfeet  across  with  a  drop  of  158  feet  and  fully  fifteen  hundred  million 
cubic  feet  of  water  pass  over  the  ledge  every  hour.    The  name  "Horse-Shoe"  is  hardly 

155 


true  to  the  present  shape,  which  is  now  more  nearly  rectangular.  The  horse-shoe  curve 
has  been  marred  by  the  falling  of  portions  of  the  cliff  at  various  times,  until  its  original 
symmetry  has  nearly  departed. 

THE  Spiral  STAIRCASE,  firmly  anchored  to  the  rocky  banks  at  the  north  end  of  Table- 
Rock,  descends  the  perpendicular  face  of  the  cliff  and  leads  under  Table-Rock  and  to  the 
foot  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall.      Dresses  and  guides  must  be  obtained  to  pass 

Below  Table-Rock  axd  Under  the  Fall. — The  view  here  is  grand  in  an  awful  degree. 
An  indescribable  feeling  of  awe  steals  over  us,  and  we  are  more  than  ever  impressed 
with  the  tremendous  magnificence  of  Niagara,  as  we  gaze  upwards  at  the  frowning  cliff 
that  seems  tottering  to  its  fall,  and  pass  under  the  thick  curtain  of  water — so  near  that  it 
seems  as  if  we  could  touch  it — and  hear  the  hissing  spray,  and  are  stunned  by  the  deaf- 
ening roar  that  issues  from  the  misty  vortex  at  our  feet.  The  precipice  of  the  Horse- 
Shoe  Fall  rises  perpendicularly  to  a  height  of  90  feet;  at  our  feet  the  cliff  descends 
about  70  feet  into  a  turmoil  of  bursting  foam;  in  front  is  the  liquid  curtain  which,  though 
ever  passing  onward,  never  unveils  this  wildest  of  Nature's  caverns. 

Emerging  from  our  expedition  into  the  cavernous  recess  of  the  Great  Fall,  we  now 
gaze  from  Table  Rock  at  the 

Canadian  Rapids  above  the  Falls,  full  before  us,  sweeping  down,  multitudinous, 
apparently  illimitable,  the  white  foaming  crests  drawn  sharply  against  the  horizon. 

Continuing  the  road,  we  cross  to  CEDAR  Island,  and  following  the  GRAND  RAPIDS 
Drive,  one  of  the  pleasantest  around  Niagara,  along  the  Canadian  Rapids,  we  reach  the 
Clark  Hill  Islands,  five  in  number,  connected  to  the  main  land  at  either  end,  by  the 
elegant  suspension  bridges,  "  Castor  "  and  "Pollux."  Cynthia  Island  stands  on  our 
left,  and  immediately  opposite,  across  a  wild  branch  of  the  river,  the  cottage  erected  over 
the  renowned  Burning  Spring,  where,  through  a  fissure  in  the  rock,  an  inflammable 
sulphurous  gas  comes  up. 

From  the  bluff  above  the  Burning  Spring,  a  magnificent  view  is  had  of  the  Rapids 
and  the  river,  and  also  of 

NAVY  Island,  over  three  hundred  acres  in  area.  The  island  is  a  British  possession,  and  in 
1837  was  made  the  rendezvous  of  the  Canadian  Patriots  in  open  rebellion  against  the 
authorities  of  the  Dominion. 

Retracing  our  steps,  we  notice,  passing  through  the  village, 

Tin;  MUSEUM  Building,  which   contains   a  collection   of  natural   and   artificial   curiosities 
gathered  from  the  various  corners  of  the  earth,  and  tastefully  arranged  for  display. 

Our  objective  point  now  is  the  American  Side,  and  in  three  or  four  minutes  we  reach 
the  bank  below  the  Clifton.  Here  we  have  a  choice  of  two  methods  in  crossing  the 
river.  We  may  descend  the  bank  and  cross  by  the  ferry,  or  may  go  over  the  New  Sus- 
pension Bridge.    Adopting  the  former,  we  descend  the  path,  and  at  the  water's  edge  find 

The  FERRY. — We  commit  ourselves  to  the  little  boat  and  are  soon  dancing:  on  the  agitated 
waters,  gazing  in  profound  silence  at  the  Falls.  This  crossing  affords  most  vivid  impres- 
sions of  the  majesty  and  immensity  of  the  Cataract.  The  brawny  boatman  handles  his 
oars  dexterously,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  are  landed  close  at  the  foot  of  the  American  Fall. 
Passing  through  a  tunnel-like  shed  and  donning  an  oil-skin  dress,  we  emerge  onto 
the  rocks  into  a  storm  of  spray,  and  stand  upon 

The  HURRICANE  Bridge,  from  which  may  be  seen  a  tremendous  ghost  of  mist,  forming 
heavy  clouds  fringed  with  all  the  brilliant  colors  of  the  rainbow.  The  scene  is  wild  and 
overpowering.  Looking  up  to  the  towering  crest  of  the  stupendous  cataract,  the 
immense  mass  of  waters  seems  to  pour  down  from  the  skies.      We  pass  now  to 

The  Shadow  of  the  Rock,  the  name  given  to  a  recess  behind  the  Fall  itself,  which  extends 
nearly  to  the  center  of  the   Fall,  and  is  filled  with   the  dashing  spray  perpetually  rising 

156 


from  the  cauldron  of  waters.      The  roar  of  the  cataract  echoes  and  re-echoes  within   this 
chamber,  the  effect  being  heightened  by  the  compression  of  the  air. 

To  reach  the  Table-land  above  we  pass  through  the  dressing  rooms,  where  we  cast 
off  our  mariner's  suit  and  are  ready  for  a  trip  up 

THE  INCLINED  Railway. — A  tunnel  has  been  cut  from  the  cliffs  to  the  margin  of  the  river, 
at  an  angle  of  about  thirty  degrees,  and  within  it  is  built  the  railway,  by  the  side  of 
which  is  a  flight  of  stairs,  numbering  290  steps.  The  cars  are  raised  and  lowered  by 
machinery,  and  are  so  arranged  that  one  ascends  while  the  other  descends. 

PROSPECT  Point  is  on  the  very  verge  of  the  Fall,  at  the  point  where  its  mighty  waters 
descend  in  one  solemn  unbroken  mass  into  a  gulf  of  spray  rising  in  clouds  from  the  tor- 
tured waves  beneath,  and  driven  about  by  the  gusts,  till  sometimes  the  whole  river 
and  the  opposite  shores  are  momentarily  concealed.  As  this  misty  curtain  is  withdrawn, 
the  whole  scene  is  disclosed.  Immediately  in  front  is  the  American  Fall,  its  waters 
almost  in  reach  of  the  outstretched  hand,  beyond  this  Luna  Island  and  the  wooded  steps 
of  Goat  Island,  while  to  the  right  stretches  in  wonderful  magnificence  the  sublime  curve 
of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall;   and  up  the  stream  the  foaming  rapids  greet  the  vision. 

PROSPECT  Park  extends  all  around  us,  a  remnant  of  the  natural  forest.  Cool,  shady  walks 
run  in  all  directions,  the  air  is  full  of  the  fragrance  of  wild  blossoms,  rustic  seats  at  inter- 
vals furnish  delightful  resting  places  and# convenient  positions  to  gaze  at  the  scenery. 
When  the  shades  of  night  envelop  the  earth  in  darkness,  electric  lights  pour  their  brilliant 
rays  upon  the  scene,  infusing  the  spray  clouds  with  gorgeous  rainbow  tints  and  brilliantly 
illuminating  the  rolling  waters.  An  Art  Gallery,  Concert  Hall,  Fountains,  Bazaar,  and 
other  objective  points  of  entertainment,  are  provided  to  engage  the  attention  of  visitors. 
Leaving  the  Park  at  its  south-eastern  corner  we  find  on  our  right  the  toll-gate  of 

GOAT  Island  Bridge. — This  structure  is  remarkable  from  the  fact  that  it  spans  one  of  the 
most  turbulent  of  any  known  rapids.  It  was  first  built  as  a  frail  wooden  structure  in 
1 81 7,  by  Judge  Porter,  and  was  soon  carried  away.  It  was  replaced  by  a  stronger  one, 
which  stood  from  1818  to  1856,  when  it  was  removed,  and  the  present  elegant  structure 
substituted.  The  foundations  are  heavy  oaken  cribs,  filled  with  stone  and  plated  with 
iron.  The  bridge  itself  is  of  iron,  in  four  arches,  each  of  ninety  feet  span,  making  a 
total  length  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet.  Its  width  is  twenty-seven  feet,  comprising 
a  double  carriage-way,  with  footway  on  either  side.      Here  is  the  finest  outlook  on 

The  American  Rapids  above  the  Falls,  which  viewed  from  this  point  present  that 
same  appearance  of  plunging  from  the  sky  which  renders  the  view  of  the  Canadian 
Rapids  from  the  Canada  shore  so  impressive. 

SHIP  AND  Brig  Islands  stem  the  current  a  little  above  the  bridge  and  are  t-wo  small  wooded 
isles  of  rare  beauty.  It  needs  but  little  effort  of  the  imagination  to  fancy  them  vessels 
under  full  press  of  sail,  endeavoring  to  sheer  out  of  the  current  that  hurries  them  inevi- 
tably down.  Ship  Island  was  once  accessible  by  a  bridge  connecting  it  with  Bath  Island. 
It  was  swept  away  and  has  not  been  rebuilt. 

BATH  ISLAND,  one  of  the  group  of  islands  which  stud  the  rapids  upon  the  American  side, 
above  the  cataract,  is  the  first  on  our  way.  It  contains  about  two  acres,  and  its  former 
scenes  of  loveliness  have  disappeared  to  make  room  for  the  various  buildings  and  sheds 
of  a  large  paper-mill.  Looking  down  the  river  are  several  small  islets,  the  first  two  of 
which  are  named  Chapin  and  Robinson  Islands. 

CHAPIN  ISLAND  received  its  name  from  that  of  a  workman  who  fell  into  the  rapids  while  re- 
pairing the  Goat  Island  bridge,  was  hurled  to  its  shores,  and  notwithstanding  the  imminent 
peril  of  the  undertaking  was  rescued  by  Joel  R.  Robinson. 

ROBINSON  Island  is  named  after  the  intrepid  navigator  of  Niagara's  troubled  waters,  whose 
brave  feats  of  daring  in  rescuing  life  and  property,  should  immortalize  his  name. 
Crossing  by  a  bridge  of  a  single  span,  at  the  south  end  of  Bath  Island,  we  are 

1.-.: 


On  GOAT  ISLAND,  into  a  shady  forest,  almost  in  its  primeval  simplicity,  a  most  lovely  and 
romantic  spot  of  ground,  affording  a  cool  retreat  in  summer  from  the  noon-day  heat, 
beneath  the  dense  foliage  of  trees  abounding  there,  upon  the  trunks  of  which  are  inscribed 
various  names  and  dates  showing  that  visits  were  here  made  as  early  as  1769.  It  was, 
in  ancient  times,  one  of  the  favorite  burying-grounds  of  the  Indians.  It  owes  its  singular 
name  to  the  fact  that  some  goats  placed  there  to  pasture  in  1779,  perished  from  the  cold 
during  the  ensuing  winter.  This  Island,  forming  on  one  side  a  part  of  the  precipice, 
commences  near  the  head  of  the  Rapids  almost  in  the  center  of  the  river,  dividing  it  so 
as  to  form  the  two  main  portions  of  the  Falls.      It  covers  an  extent  of  seventy  acres. 

On  reaching  the  Island  we  have  taken  the  first  road  leading  to  the  right  and  arrive 
at  the  northwest  part,  upon  a  narrow  ridge,  called  from  its  shape, 

Hog's  BACK  from  which  we  gain  one  of  the  finest  views  of  the  American  Falls.  Right  in 
front  is  the  small  Center  Fall,  and  the  foot-bridge  which  leads  to  Luna  Island,  with  its 
dwarfed  and  stunted  trees;  beyond  is  the  serrated  line  of  the  American  Fall;  while  the 
distance  is  filled  up  with  the  receding  lines  of  the  banks  of  the  river  below. 

Descending  the  steps  in  front  of  us,  we  cross  a  pretty  and  substantial  bridge  over 
the  stream  that  forms  the  Center  Fall  and  land  upon 

LUNA  Island,  a  pleasant  little  islet  well  worthy  of  a  visit.  Its  name  came  to  it  in  connection 
with  the  weird  and  pleasing  appearance  of  the  Lunar  bows,  visible  there. 

The  Three  Profiles  are  an  irregular  projection  of  that  portion  of  the  precipice  which  is 
formed  by  the  west  side  of  Luna  Island,  and  are  almost  under  the  American  Fall. 
They  obtain  their  name  from  their  remarkable  likeness  to  three  human  faces. 

The  Center  Fall  over  which  we  pass  on  our  way  to  and  from  Goat  Island,  although  a 
mere  ribbon  of  white  water  when  seen  from  a  short  distance  in  contrast  with  the  Great 
Falls,  is  by  no  means  unworthy  of  notice.  It  is  100  feet  wide,  and  a  very  graceful  sheet 
of  water.      A  few  paces  bring  us  to  the  entrance  of 

BlDDLE's  Stairs  erected  in  1829,  by  Mr.  Biddle,  president  of  the  United  States  Bank.  They 
are  firmly  secured  to  the  cliff,  quite  safe,  and  80  feet  high.  The  total  descent  from  the 
top  of  the  bank  to  the  bottom  is  185  feet.  Descending  the  stairs  we  take  the  pathway  to 
the  right,  and  having  previously  donned  a  water-proof  dress  are  prepared  for  a  visit  to 

The  Cave  of  the  Winds,  which  lies  behind  the  Center  Fall.  The  Cave  is  100  feet  high  by 
100  deep  and  160  long,  and  its  existence  is  due  to  the  action  of  the  waters  upon  the 
shale,  leaving  the  more  solid  limestone  rock  overhanging.  A  visitor,  whose  impressions 
appeared  in  Harper's  Magazine  years  ago,  gives  a  most  graphic  description:  "Close  by 
the  entrance  you  look  down  into  an  abyss  of  cold  gray  mist,  driven  ever  and  anon  like 
showers  of  hail  into  your  face,  as  you  grope  your  way  down  the  rocky  slope.  Haste 
not,  pause  not.  Here  is  the  platform,  half-seen,  half-felt  amid  the  blinding  spray.  Shade 
of  Father  Hennepin,  this  is  truly  a  'dismal  roaring'  of  wind  and  water.  We  are  across 
— and  stand  secure  on  the  smooth  shaly  bottom  of  the  cave.  Look  up!  what  a  magni- 
ficent arch  is  formed  by  the  solid  rock  on  the  one  side,  and  the  descending  mass  of  water 
on  the  other.  Which  is  the  solider  and  firmer  you  hardly  know.  Yet  look  again — for 
it  is  sunset — and  see  what  we  shall  see  nowhere  else  on  earth,  three  rainbows  one  within 
another,  not  half-formed  and  incomplete,  as  is  the  scheme  of  our  daily  life;  but  filling  up 
the  complete  circle,  perfect  and  absolute." 

THE  ROCK  OF  AGES  is  the  huge  rock  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  Falls  in  front  of  the  Cave  of 
the  Winds. 

From  the  foot  of  the  staircase,  the  path  to  the  left,  leads  toward  the  Horse-Shoe 
Fall.  Portions  of  the  rock  fall  occasionally,  and  the  road  is  but  little  used,  and  not  kept 
in  good  condition  ;  still,  one  is  well  repaid  for  an  attempt  to  get  a  close  sight  of  the 
Great  Fall  from  below.  Returning  to  the  bank  above,  and  continuing  the  walk  along 
the  brink,  the  next  interesting  point  of  observation  is 

158 


Terrapin  Bridge,  leading  to  the  edge  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Fall  and  the  Terrapin  Rock, 
where  for  forty  years  the  well-known  TERRAPIN  Tower,  standing  at  the  very  verge  of 
the  Falls,  constituted  a  land-mark  to  be  seen  from  all  directions.  The  bridge,  being  so 
near  the  Fall  as  to  be  affected  by  the  spray,  requires  that  those  who  pass  over  it  should 
avoid  exposure.  The  water  at  this  extremity  of  the  Fall  descends  in  light  feathery 
foam,  contrasting  finely  with  the  solid  masses  in  which  it  seems  to  plunge  down  the 
center  of  the  sweeping  curve.  The  line  of  division  between  the  government  of  the 
United  States  and  that  of  Canada  is  in  the  deepest  part  of  the  channel,  or  through  the 
angular  part  of  the  Fall.  It  passes  through  the  lonely  little  GULL  ISLAND  in  the  center  of 
the  river,  which  has  never  been  trodden  by  human  foot. 

Following  a  road  along  the  south  side  of  the  Island,  affording  an  unsurpassed  view  of 
the  Canadian  Rapids,  which  run  at  the  rate  of  28  miles  per  hour,  we  come  to  the 

THREE  SISTERS  ISLANDS,  connected  with  Goat  Island  and  with  one  another  by  three  beauti- 
ful bridges.  Their  location  in  the  mist  of  the  Rapids  afford  many  varied  and  desirable 
points  to  observe  the  scenery.  From  the  head  of  the  Third  Sister  a  continuous  cascade 
extending  toward  the  Canada  shore  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  and  from  which  the 
spray  rises  in  beautiful  clouds,  presents  a  peculiar  phenomenon  usually  termed  the 

LEAPING  Rock — doubtlessly  a  misnomer.  The  water  striking  against  the  rock  rises  perpet- 
ually in  an  unbroken  column,  twenty  or  more  feet  high,  producing  a  brilliant  effect. 

The  Hermit's  Cascade  is  spanned  by  the  First  Sister  Island  Bridge,  and  is  a  rare  and 
attractive  Fall.      It  was  one  of  the  favorite  resorts  of  the  Hermit  of  the  Falls. 

At  the  Head  of  Goat  Island,  a  little  further  up  the  river,  the  view  is  quite  expansive, 
commanding  both  banks  of  the  stream,  and  the  islands  in  the  channel.  Beginning  at  the 
right,  the  site  of  Fort  Schlosser  is  seen  about  a  mile  away,  marked  by  a  small  white 
building  and  a  very  large  chimney.  The  town  of  Chippewa  on  the  Canada  shore;  Grand 
Island,  etc.,  are  all  visible  from  this  point. 

We  leave  with  reluctance  this  most  fascinating  spot,  and  direct  our  steps  towards  the 
Canada  Side,  crossing  the  river  this  time  over 

The  New  Suspension  Bridge,  in  full  view  of  the  Great  Cataract,  from  which  one  of  the 
most  glorious  views  of  the  entire  Falls  can  be  had. 

The  points  already  visited  constitute  the  attractions  immediately  around  the  Falls. 
There  are  several  localities  in  the  vicinity  worthy  of  attention,  specially  on  account  of 
historical  associations.      A  brief  mention  will  aid  the  tourist  in  his  peregrinations. 

The  Michigan  Central  Canti-lever  Bridge,  just  constructed,  a  structure  of  an  entirely 
new  model  and  positively  elegant. 

The  Old  Suspension  Bridge  two  miles  below  the  Falls.  This  was  built  in  1855  by  John 
A.  Roebling,  and  is  both  a  railroad  and  carriage  bridge.  It  is  a  marvel  of  engineering 
some  8,000  miles  of  wire  being  employed  in  the  cables. 

Whirlpool  Rapids. — The  narrowing  of  the  channel  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Suspension  Bridge 
greatly  accelerates  the  current,  and  the  tremendous  force  with  which  it  rushes  through  the 
gorge  throws  the  water  into  violent  commotion.  On  the  American  side  a  double  ele- 
vator, and  on  the  Canada  side  an  inclined  railway  have  been  provided  to  descend  to  the 
water's  edge  and  take  a  near  view  of  the  wild  scene. 

THE  Whirlpool. — A  half  mile  below  the  Rapids,  the  Whirlpool  is  found.  Here  the  river 
makes  an  acute  angle  in  its  course,  turning  to  the  right,  and  boils  within  a  narrower 
compass  than  in  any  other  spot.  The  current  of  the  river  runs  with  such  fierce  velocity, 
that  it  rises  up  in  the  middle  ten  to  twenty  feet  above  the  sides.  On  the  surface  of  this 
whirling  vortex  are  often  seen  the  ruins  of  forest  floating  round,  marking  out  to  the  eye 
the  outline  of  that  fatal  circle.  The  Whirlpool  may  be  seen  to  advantage  from  either  the 
Canadian  or  the  American  side. 

159 


The  MANITQU,  OR  PINNACLE  Rock,  is  supposed  to  be  a  portion  of  the  cliff,  at  the  base  of 
which  it  lies,  thrown  down  in  former  times.  It  is  situated  about  fifty  rods  above  the 
Whirlpool,  at  the  edge  of  the  river,  its  shape  being  that  of  an  inverted  cone,  with  its 
apex  resting  upon  the  summit  of  another  large  rock,  reaching  to  the  height  of  nearly  one 
hundred  feet  from  the  water's  edge. 

Brock's  Monument. — On  Queenston  Heights,  four  miles  below  the  Whirlpool,  on  the 
Canada  side,  stands  the  Monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  British  General,  Sir 
Isaac  Brock,  who  fell  in  the  sanguinary  action  fought  on  the  spot  on  the  15th  of  October, 
1812.  The  view  from  this  monument  is  most  gorgeous.  The  eye  wanders  with  untiring 
delight  over  a  rich  scene  of  woodland  and  water.     Just  below,  is  the  village  of 

QUEENSTON,  Ontario,  a  small  picturesque  town,  worth  of  notice  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
memorable  battle  that  took  place  on  the  neighboring  heights. 

LEWISTON,  N.  Y.,  opposite  Queenston,  is  a  beautifully  situated  town,  about  seven  miles -from 
the  Falls.  It  is  a  place  of  some  importance,  and  stands  at  the  head  of  the  navigation  on 
the  river;   it  contains  several  fine  hotels  and  public  buildings. 

Niagara  Town  stands  on  the  Canada  shore,  opposite  Youngstown,  on  the  site  of  Newark, 
which  was  burnt  in  181  3  by  General  McClure.  A  short  distance  above  the  town  are  the 
remains  of  Fort  GEORGE,  which  was  taken  by  the  Americans  in  1S13,  afterward 
destroyed  by  the  British  and  left  in  ruins. 

FORT  Niagara  stands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara  River  on  the  American  side.  There  are 
many  interesting  associations  connected  with  this  spot.  During  the  earlier  part  of  the 
past  century,  it  was  the  scene  of  many  severe  conflicts  between  the  whites  and  the  In- 
dians, and  subsequently  betwen  the  English  and  the  French.  It  was  established  as  a 
trading  post  by  La  Salle  in  1678.  The  village  adjacent  to  the  Fort  is  called  YOUNGS- 
TOWN,  in  honor  of  its  founder,  the  late  John  Young,  Esq. 

FORT  MlSSASAUGA,  also  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  opposite  Fort  Niagara,  is  a  little  below 
the  town  of  Niagara,  and  is  garrisoned  by  British  soldiers. 

The  Devil's  Hole,  on  the  American  side,  three  miles  below  the  Falls,  is  a  large  chasm  in 
the  bank  of  the  river,  which  receives  the  water  from  a  small  stream  known  as  Bloody 
Run;  it  was  the  scene  of  the  murder  of  the  English,  600  in  number,  by  the  French  and 
Indians  in  1793,  when  only  three  of  the  number  escaped  to  tell  the  tale. 

LUNDY'S  Lane  Battle  GROUND  located  one  and  one-half  miles  west  of  the  Falls,  was  the 
scene  of  a  sanguinary  action  between  the  British  and  American  forces,  on  July25th,  1814, 
the  loss  on  both  sides  in  killed  and  wounded  being  1,800. 

DRUMMONDVILLE,  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  is  named  after  General  Drummond,  then  com- 
mander of  the  British  forces. 

CHIPPEWA   Battle  Ground. — Upon  this  field,  located  near  the  village  on  the  Canada  bank 
of  the  Niagara,  three  miles  above  the  Falls,  was  fought  the  first  of  that  series  of  actions 
which   decided  the  campaign  of  18 14  in  favor  of  the  American   arms.     The  battle  took 
■place  on  July  5th.   1814.     The  British  made  the  attack  and  retreated  after  the  action. 

The  Top  of  the  Mountain,  on  the  American  side,  opposite  Queenston  Heights,  affords 
from  its  elevated  position  a  magnificent  view  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the  River  Niagara. 

The  Tuscarora  Indian  Reservation  is  9  miles  northeast  from  the  Falls.  It  is  strictly  an 
Indian  village  upon  which  the  Tuscaroras  are  located,  and  well  worth  a  visit. 

As  a  parting  injunction  to  the  visitors  of  the  future,  the  pilgrim  would  advise  " 
them,  invariably,  to  make  distinct  agreements  with  the  hackmen  or  any  other  person 
whose  services  they  may  require  at  Niagara  Falls,  as  to  the  service  expected  and  the 
amount  to  be  paid  in   return.       Exact  the  terms  of  your  contract,   but  do  not  go 
beyond  without  first  having  a  thorough  understanding  as  to  the  cost. 

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